Now, TikTok Is Getting It Own Community Notes

Summary: TikTok is now getting ready to launch its own community notes. Users will be able to contribute their own notes, but they must meet certain qualifications in order to be a contributor. 

Meta has made headlines over the past couple of months because it got rid of fact-checking in lieu of a community notes system. This is a system that allows users to deliver user-generated notes on posts that might not be 100% correct. Twitter had this for a while before discontinuing it.

Meta received some hate for bringing this feature, but another company wants to try its hand at it. At this point, we don’t know how the community will react to it.

TikTok wants to bring its own community notes system

TikTok is one of the most popular video-sharing platforms on the planet, as millions of people post videos to it every week. Among those videos, there are a vast number of informational videos that attempt to teach or inform the population. Since pretty much anyone can upload a video, this means that it’s easy for anyone to post inaccurate or dangerous information. This has led to pain, sickness, injury, and even death over TikTok’s existence.

This is why a program like this could be welcomed. It could help cut down on the misinformation present on the platform. Just like what we saw with Twitter, TikTok’s version of community notes, called “Footnotes“, will have some requirements that people will need to meet.

For starters, users will need to have had a TikTok account for at least six months. Users need to be 18 years old or older, which should come as no surprise. Lastly, users will need to have a clean rep sheet with TikTok, so they can not have violated the platform’s terms of service. If you’re a U.S. user, and you meet the requirements, then the company will notify you. Users can apply starting today.

How Footnotes will be verified

TikTok Footnotes will use a system that will see users with differing opinions and views vote on the helpfulness of a community note on a video. This way, the company can avoid having any biased notes that steer users in a specific direction. Once that note is certified to be helpful, it will be visible to the public, and users will be able to vote on it.

Right now, TikTok is testing Footnotes in the U.S. for short-form videos. Over the coming months, TikTok will broaden its reach.