TikTok Begins Extending State-Controlled Media Labels to More Markets

TikTok reacted to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year by adding labels to content from state-controlled media in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, and the video creation platform said Wednesday that the initiative is being extended to more countries. The state-controlled media label will be rolled out in a phased approach to more than 40 markets across multiple regions, with Canada, Chine, France, Japan and the U.S. among the initial group, and the company plans to add “an even wider array” of markets over time. Global head of issue policy and partnerships, trust and safety Justin Erlich explained in a blog post Wednesday, “Our state-affiliated media policy is to label accounts run by entities whose editorial output or decision-making process is subject to control or influence by a government. Our goal in labeling state-affiliated media is to ensure that people have accurate, transparent and actionable context when they engage with content from media accounts that may present the viewpoint of a government.” Erlich said TikTok consulted with more than 60 academics, media experts, political scientists and representatives from international organizations and civil society across Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America, as well as its own Content Advisory Council and Safety Advisory Council, and the company also worked with a global media monitor to develop an independently validated methodology to guide decisions on this topic. Feedback included the importance of considering diverse cultural, legal and political contexts related to news media, as well as the idea that a one-size-fits-all approach does not exists, and educating users on different ways that states attempt to influence news and reporting is vital. TikTok said that when evaluating editorial independent, factors it considers include the organization’s editorial decisions, editorial governance, editorial practice/safeguards, leadership and mission statement, adding that it applies additional scrutiny to entities that may be heavily reliant on state funding, either directly or through advertisements, loans and subsidies. The company shared some of the questions it asks during the evaluation process: Is editorial independence part of the organization's mission statement?Does the organization have a set of guidelines related to standards of journalistic conduct?Are there any state affiliations within management or editorial leadership positions?Has the organization transparently disclosed any state affiliations?Is there evidence of the media outlet not upholding its editorial guidelines?How has the entity handled issues of significant public interest regarding the government? Erlich wrote, “We've spent months developing an objective methodology that can be consistently applied by our trust and safety team, which oversees state-affiliated media labeling decisions. At the same time, knowing there’s always an element of context required that can lead to occasional errors, we’re also introducing an appeals process for entities that believe they've been incorrectly labeled as state-controlled media. To appeal, an entity can submit additional information to indicate safeguards that ensure editorial independence. We'll evaluate the provided evidence and seek input from independent authoritative experts, and we will remove the label if we find that the entity does not meet our state-affiliated media criteria.”

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TikTok Begins Extending State-Controlled Media Labels to More Markets

The pilot began last year in Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, as a reaction to the war in the region

David Cohen

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David Cohen