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Despite its attempts to combat misinformation, TikTok is still failing to stop the spread of fake news about the Ukraine War, an anti-misinformation organization said on Monday.
TikTok users are being shown videos with fake news about the war within minutes of creating new accounts, according to NewsGuard, the organization that published the report.
TikTok's algorithm fed misinformation onto the "For You" pages of new accounts just 40 minutes after those accounts were opened, the report said, regardless of whether those individuals entered any Ukraine-related searches .
TikTok’s “For You” page is the first thing users see after they open the app. It displays a curated feed of videos that TikTok's algorithm thinks users will like based on their interests and past interactions. Without any information at all, TikTok shows new users random popular videos.
NewsGuard also found that after searching generic terms related to the conflict, like ‘Ukraine’ or ‘Donbas’, TikTok displayed multiple videos containing disinformation in its top 20 results.
NewsGuard notes the new findings add to the “body of evidence that TikTok’s lack of effective content labeling and moderation, coupled with its skill at pushing users to content that keeps them on the app, have made the platform fertile ground for the spread of disinformation.”
TikTok did not immediately...
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