TikTokThroughout the pandemic, TikTok has brought inspiration and joy to people around the world, helping foster a sense of community and connection despite being physically separated. We've also worked with trusted public health organizations and experts to bring reliable information to our community. Now, in recognition of World Immunization Week (April 24-30), we're doing our part to provide access to information about COVID-19 immunization. By supporting informational, engaging livestreams and video creation, we aim to continue contributing to important public health goals.
#VaccinatedFor
During World Immunization Week, we're encouraging our community to get creative in how they share the reasons why they're getting vaccinated and use the hashtag #VaccinatedFor to inspire others to get a COVID-19 vaccine, too. People can participate using #VaccinatedFor and view content from the broader TikTok community on our Discover page all week.
WHO, LIVE!
On Thursday, April 29, the World Health Organization will be livestreaming to our community from its TikTok account (which has grown to over 2.8M followers!). Katherine O'Brien, the Director of the Department of Immunization, Vaccines, and Biologicals for the WHO, will explain the science, efficacy, and safety behind vaccines and answer questions from viewers on our app.
To tune in with the WHO live on TikTok, visit @WHO on Thursday April 29 at Noon ET.
VIRAL, by NowThis
We've partnered with NowThis to launch a five-part LIVE series called VIRAL, which aims to educate people about the science behind COVID-19 vaccines to help close the information gap, reduce vaccine hesitancy, and inform our community. VIRAL is hosted by Laurel Bristow, an Infectious Disease researcher, and features public health experts from team Halo, who together will answer viewers' questions about the pandemic through live Q&A.
Tune in every Thursday at 6pm ET through May 13 at @NowThis.
Continuing to counter misinformation
On February 2, 2021, Digital Public Square and TikTok Canada convened a roundtable of medical experts, public health practitioners, civil society leaders, and content creators to discuss strategies for tackling COVID-19 and vaccine misinformation. The discussion focused on how Canadians are increasingly relying on online platforms to obtain and share information, and how online misinformation may lead to increased levels of vaccine hesitancy and opposition. The discussion shed light on new ways to think about public health communication and offered implementable ideas for how we can work together to address vaccine hesitancy by fighting related misinformation narratives online.
As we bring educational content and partners onto TikTok, we also continue to strengthen the resources provided across our app. Our in-app coronavirus resource hub has been viewed over 2.6 billion times and is periodically updated with new information and guidance about vaccines and COVID-19 from the WHO and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). We also place PSAs on an increasing number of related hashtags to connect viewers to the WHO and local public health resources. These PSAs have amassed over 38 billion views and counting.
We strive to swiftly identify and remove misinformation related to COVID-19, and the vast majority of misleading videos about the coronavirus are removed within 24 hours of upload, as detailed in our last Transparency Report. We're making important investments in new detection mechanisms as we work to close this gap and improve our efficacy.
For more information on our work to promote public health and support communities during the pandemic, visit our Safety Center.
