We have worked to protect the integrity of our platform through more than 200 elections around the world since 2020 alone, and are committed to maintaining a civil place for people to express themselves and build community. Through the Tanzania Elections, our elections taskforce will work alongside technology to prevent harmful content and empower people to separate fact from fiction. Today, we're sharing more on how we do that and announcing the launch of our Election Center, an in-app hub where citizens of Tanzania can find reliable election information in the weeks to come.
Connecting people to trusted sources of information
We're launching an in-app Election Center available in Kiswahili in partnership with the Independent Electoral Commission of Tanzania and Nukta Fact to make it easy to find authoritative information about voting and the election. The Center provides an overview of the election in Tanzania along with reliable sources on THIS. To ensure that we're reaching users where they are, we'll direct them to the Center through tags on relevant election content and searches.
This is part of the wider work we do to empower people with authoritative information on TikTok and give them important context about content and accounts. We also label state-affiliated media accounts, provide "verified" badges for accounts to signal they're authentic, and require creators to label realistic AI-generated content while providing tools to make this easy to do.
Combating harmful misinformation
We protect our community by enforcing firm policies against harmful misinformation and attempts to deceive our community. To do that, we invest in advanced moderation technologies and thousands of safety professionals who work together to protect our community.
We prohibit harmful misinformation and may label unverified content, make it ineligible for recommendation, and prompt people to reconsider before sharing. We work with over 20 global fact-checking organizations globally to assess the accuracy of content so that our teams can apply those policies accurately. This includes Code for Africa in Tanzania, who help evaluate the accuracy of TikTok content, and label content that they determine is unsubstantiated.
Deterring deceptive behavior
We are highly vigilant against attempts to undermine authentic interactions on TikTok, and have teams who work full-time to disrupt deceptive behaviors.
We prohibit covert influence operation, where networks of accounts misleadingly work together in an attempt to influence public discussion on important social issues, and we report these network disruptions every month in our Transparency Center. We also prohibit impersonation or attempts artificially boost content through fake engagement like bot networks.
State-affiliated media are not allowed to advertise to audiences outside of their registered country, and we restrict the reach of these accounts if they attempt to target foreign audiences on current affairs.
Preventing misleading AI-generated content
To protect viewers from being misled, we require creators to label realistic AI-generated content (AIGC) and have consistently been industry leaders in adopting new AI labeling tools and technologies—including a labeling toggle for creators, and C2PA Content Credentials that enables us to identify AIGC made on other platforms.
Harmful AIGC is not allowed, even if labeled. That includes AIGC that falsely depicts public figures making an endorsement, being endorsed, or being bullied or harassed.
Prohibiting Paid Ads
As an entertainment platform, we've long prohibited paid political advertising on TikTok because we don't believe it's conducive to authentic, creative TikTok experiences. Accounts belonging to governments, politicians or political parties ("GPPPAs") are not allowed to use advertising or monetization features, and are subject to additional dedicated rules given the public interest role play they play in civic processes.
While candidates, political parties, and any other advertisers remain prohibited from promoting election-related content through ads, we do make an exception for official entities overseeing elections. For example, we allow electoral management bodies to run ads with essential voter information such as how to vote where to register and other participation details.
We are constantly working to maintain the integrity of our platform, especially during elections. In Tanzania, we'll continue to invest to stay ahead of potential threats while continuing to make it easy to find reliable sources of information for those engaging with election content on our app.
A word from our partners
"Media literacy provides individuals with the critical thinking skills needed to distinguish credible information from misinformation and disinformation, enabling informed voting decisions. We are proud to partner with TikTok on this important initiative, as together, we aim to equip Tanzanians with the skills necessary to navigate today's complex media landscape effectively. Through collaborative efforts like these, we aim to create a more informed and engaged electorate, ensuring the thriving of democracy in our country." said Daniel Mwingira, Co-founder Nukta Fact