TikTok to launch new app feature ahead of general election

The social media platform will have a media literacy hub to help users recognise fake news and misinformation online before the general election.

It said the hub had been created alongside the fact-checking organisation Logically Facts.

TikTok said the new in-app space will focus on critical thinking and news literacy covering topics such as how to spot fake news online and tips for consuming a balanced range of news.

General Election: Key questions

“With misinformation and disinformation being found on every corner of the internet, the hub contains guidelines which have been designed to help critique and judge the trustworthiness of the information we find online,” TikTok said in blog post on the new tool.

“Whenever or wherever they engage in content, we encourage our community to stop, think and check the resources.”

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TikTok’s move comes after the rollout of a dedicated General Election Centre on the platform in the UK which directs users to official information from the Electoral Commission.

Users will see prompts for the centre appear on election-related content and when they make election-related searches.

“As the United Kingdom prepares to go to the polls for the General Election, we are committed to ensuring that our TikTok community has the skills to assess whether the information that they read, see or hear during this busy time is reliable and accurate,” TikTok said.

When is the general election?

Current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the general election will take place on Thursday July 4, 2024.