A blow to fake news distributors?
A little over a month before the elections in Israel, Tiktok is updating its policy regarding political accounts.
The social network will prevent the accounts of politicians and parties, and even government accounts, from using the advertising tool - except in isolated cases.
This is an automatic and worldwide update, but its timing is not accidental since it is carried out about two months before the midterm elections in the United States.
As a result of the move, political Tiktok accounts will be prohibited from launching commercial campaigns on the social network, and they will also not be able to make money on it, whether it is receiving tips and gifts, engaging in online commerce, or participating in the Tiktok Creators Fund.
Netanyahu on Tik-Tok (archive),
At the same time, in individual cases where authorized government officials request to publish on TikTok in order to convey essential information to the public (such as a campaign calling for vaccination against the corona virus), this publication is more after coordination with a designated representative of the company.
It should also be noted that a pilot is currently taking place in the US in which political accounts go through a mandatory identification process in order to be recognized as official accounts, and that in the coming weeks Tiktok will prohibit the possibility of raising funds for political campaigns, such as a video asking for donations or referrals through Tiktok to political websites asking for donations.
Tik Tok changes the rules for political accounts two months before the US midterm elections, photo: no
These new restrictions join TikTok's previous ban on incorporating political content into advertising.
"Through a combination of limiting the monetization definitions, along with a ban on fundraising for a political campaign, we believe we strike the right balance between allowing people to discuss issues relevant to their lives, and maintaining a creative and entertaining platform, as our community wants," said Cormac Keenan, Head of Trust and Safety at TikTok.
Time will tell if the new and strict restrictions will indeed help to clean Tiktok of blatant political propaganda, fake news and ads with a political edge that it is not always clear who is behind them
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