US TikTok users gain state-by-state election information through the Elections Center ahead of the midterms.
TikTok publicly defines its misinformation policies alongside the Center, giving its election-related enforcement a clearer user-facing framework.
Second-order effects
TikTok's moderation teams must make enforcement outcomes consistent with the policies presented next to its official election information, or the Center's credibility is weakened.
Civic-information partners and election-information providers gain a more prominent distribution surface inside TikTok, rather than relying solely on election-related posts reaching users organically.
Third-order effects
TikTok is turning election support into a recurring product-and-policy operation: guides, live results, official information, and misinformation rules are becoming connected platform infrastructure rather than one-off features.
If that pattern persists, platforms' election preparedness will be judged not only by what information they surface but by whether their recommendation and moderation systems uphold the same standards.
The trend: Social platforms are moving from ad hoc election guides toward integrated election-integrity systems that combine authoritative information with explicit content-governance rules.
Interestingly, from my current research, most platforms have special rules & even whole moderation teams that are activated around elections. But at what point is an influencer simply expressing their own opinion vs working with campaigns? That's a tough moderation problem. https…
@katieharbath
Katie Harbath on x
Didn't realize that TikTok's political ad ban extends to content influencers are paid for. That's a really tough policy to enforce proactively: “TikTok does not allow paid political ads, and that includes content influencers are paid to create.” https://newsroom.tiktok.com/ ...
@kellymakena
Makena Kelly on x
In a press briefing yesterday, TikTok said that its longstanding political ad ban has always covered paid influencer ads. But the app plans to ratchet up enforcement of that rule and include new educational resources for creators and management groups. https://www.theverge.com/..…
@bgeurkink
Brandi Geurkink on x
great to see progress on this since @baricks and I found evidence of influencers skirting TikTok's political ad ban last year! as the influencer ad market grows this will only get more complex (and important) to regulate beyond blanket bans https://twitter.com/...
@russellbrandom
Russell Brandom on x
The 2016 campaign cycle was disastrous for Facebook — can TikTok avoid the same problems in 2022 and 2024? https://www.theverge.com/...
@metanewsroom
@metanewsroom on x
We just shared our plans to help protect the US midterm elections. We have hundreds of people across more than 40 teams working on this, and we invested more than $5 billion in safety and security last year alone. Our efforts include: https://twitter.com/...
@tiktokcomms
@tiktokcomms on x
At TikTok, protecting our platform is a matter of utmost importance. As we approach the US midterm elections, we want to share how we're safeguarding our community and helping them to access authoritative information about the election: https://newsroom.tiktok.com/ ...
@yoda
Drew Olanoff on x
ah the facebook do “something” but nothing that will matter playbook https://twitter.com/...
@raustin_jr
Roy Austin, Jr on x
@Meta's preparations for the 2022 general election. Lot's of crucial work being done. https://twitter.com/...
@kellymakena
Makena Kelly on x
TikTok's ban only covers paid political collabs. Earlier this year, I wrote more about TPUSA's “unpaid” social media brand ambassadorship program. https://www.theverge.com/...
@katieharbath
Katie Harbath on x
TikTok joins the chorus of election announcements the last two weeks: Our commitment to election integrity https://newsroom.tiktok.com/ ...
@kellymakena
Makena Kelly on x
NEW: TikTok is moving to ban influencers from posting content in partnership with politicians and political groups ahead of the midterms. This was a growing issue last cycle. Wrote about TikTok's midterms approach below ⬇️ https://www.theverge.com/... https://twitter.com/...