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TikTok takes stand for election integrity ahead of elections As South Africa marks three decades of democracy, ensuring fair and transparent elections is important. In an era where traditional media converges with digital platforms, social media stands as both a means of transparency and a channel for misinformation. The rise of social media over the years has transformed political communication. It  presents both opportunities and obstacles in the pursuit of a democratic process. TikTok has sparked a new wave of political engagement Platforms such as TikTok, a leading global tech company, have sparked a new wave of political engagement. This particularly among younger demographics. With its accessible interface and […]

TikTok takes stand for transparency, integrity ahead of elections As South Africa marks three decades of democracy, ensuring fair and transparent elections is important. In an era where traditional media converges with digital platforms, social media stands as both a means of transparency and a channel for misinformation. The rise of social media over the years has transformed political communication. It  presents both opportunities and obstacles in the pursuit of a democratic process. TikTok has sparked a new wave of political engagement Platforms such as TikTok, a leading global tech company, have sparked a new wave of political engagement. This particularly among younger demographics. With its accessible interface and […]

Mozilla raised concerns regarding the absence of WhatsApp from discussions around safeguarding elections on social media platforms. Despite its widespread usage and influence, #WhatsApp has not been a focal point for election-related safety measures, unlike platforms like #Facebook and #Instagram, which are owned by Meta. With four billion users worldwide, WhatsApp's role in elections cannot be underestimated. Mozilla is urging Meta to implement changes to WhatsApp's functionalities, including adding disinformation labels, restricting broadcast features, and prompting users to pause before forwarding messages. These recommendations stem from concerns over WhatsApp's potential to facilitate the spread of misinformation and hate speech during elections, as observed in countries like India. Despite WhatsApp's encrypted nature, researchers are attempting to monitor its impact on elections, highlighting the challenges posed by encrypted platforms in holding them accountable for content dissemination. Follow Amanda Newman to stay up to date with technology. https://lnkd.in/e8WU3yfG

TikTok takes stand for transparency, integrity ahead of elections As South Africa marks three decades of democracy, ensuring fair and transparent elections is important. In an era where traditional media converges with digital platforms, social media stands as both a means of transparency and a channel for misinformation. The rise of social media over the years has transformed political communication. It  presents both opportunities and obstacles in the pursuit of a democratic process. TikTok has sparked a new wave of political engagement Platforms such as TikTok, a leading global tech company, have sparked a new wave of political engagement. This particularly among younger demographics. With its accessible interface and […]

TikTok takes stand for transparency, integrity ahead of elections As South Africa marks three decades of democracy, ensuring fair and transparent elections is important. In an era where traditional media converges with digital platforms, social media stands as both a means of transparency and a channel for misinformation. The rise of social media over the years has transformed political communication. It  presents both opportunities and obstacles in the pursuit of a democratic process. TikTok has sparked a new wave of political engagement Platforms such as TikTok, a leading global tech company, have sparked a new wave of political engagement. This particularly among younger demographics. With its accessible interface and […]

🆕 Reducing exposure to misinformation: Evidence from WhatsApp in Brazil 🇧🇷 More than 70 countries, representing half the world’s population, are heading to the polls in 2024. Many worry that online misinformation could foster discord and undermine election integrity. While research and commentary focuses on misinformation in Western democracies, relatively little evidence exists on the dominant vehicle for misinformation in the Global South, social messaging apps like #Whatsapp. Today on VoxDev, Tiago Ventura (Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy), Rajeshwari Majumdar (Yale University), jonathan nagler (New York University) and Joshua A. Tucker (New York University) outline their research on #misinformation, false news and #polarisation in #Brazil: https://lnkd.in/eD9c4vPf

TikTok's Impact on UK Elections Explored The BBC's investigation into the influence of TikTok on the UK's election landscape reveals a complex web of engagement, misinformation, and the power of algorithmic content recommendation. Young voters, especially those in critical electoral battlegrounds, find themselves navigating a sea of content that blurs the lines between satire, misinformation, and outright abuse. AI-generated videos, alongside user-created content, span the gamut from humorous to harmful, with some propagating unfounded rumors and divisive claims about political figures and policies. Such content isn't just a backdrop for idle scrolling; it's actively shaping perceptions and conversations among the youth. TikTok is not just an entertainment platform but a significant source of news and information. Amidst this digital cacophony, discerning fact from fiction becomes a challenge, complicated further by the presence of what appear to be bot-driven comments pushing political agendas, adding to the sense of an orchestrated manipulation of the platform's influential reach. The BBC's Undercover Voters project, which created profiles for fictional voters to explore content ecosystems, underscores the targeted nature of these campaigns. The findings suggest an energetic, if not always earnest, conversation around politics on TikTok, outpacing other social media sites in engaging young voters. Yet, this engagement comes with the risk of misinformation, as evidenced by videos that misleadingly critique or satirize political figures and policies, sometimes leaving viewers unsure of what to believe. TikTok's response, which includes increased investment in misinformation countermeasures and introducing a UK Election Centre, reflects an awareness of the platform's role in the democratic process. However, the effectiveness of these measures is yet to be fully understood, as the blend of satire, misinformation, and genuine political discourse continues to evolve. This landscape raises profound questions about the responsibility of platforms like TikTok in safeguarding the integrity of public discourse, especially among younger demographics for whom these digital spaces are primary sources of information. The balance between free expression and the prevention of misinformation is delicate, necessitating ongoing vigilance and adaptation. As elections approach, the impact of TikTok and similar platforms on the democratic process remains a critical area of concern, highlighting the need for informed, critical engagement from all sides of the political spectrum. https://lnkd.in/gKfZcWur Platform: BBC Author: Marianna Spring #disinformation #misinformation #fakenews #tiktok #socialmedia #socialmediaplatforms #elections #artificialintelligence #ai #technews #politics #content #aigeneratedcontent

TikTok is in hot water again. This time it is over election materials in England and Europe. In England, TikTok is serving AI content that spreads election disinformation and abusive content to voters ahead of the upcoming Parliamentary election (see the article below). In Europe, TikTok has been found to have allowed content containing misinformation about voting processes in the European elections in Ireland. The speed and ease of the spread of this content, and the fact that TikTok has ignored its own content moderation rules on false information do not bode well for the upcoming federal and state elections in the US in November. As we get closer to Election Day, we can be expected to be bombarded with disinformation from all platforms. It is not only Russia and China that create and disseminate this material. We are doing it ourselves as well. Pogo was right, “We have met the enemy, and He is Us.” #socialmedia #Elections #integrity #voting #disinformation

Do you like to Tinder? 🔥 Regardless, its time to tinder yourself towards the 🇪🇺 #EuropeanElection2024🇪🇺! Palumba EU is a tinder-style app that allows voters to swipe for electoral mates. An association of young professionals has found a solution to stimulate young people's participation in the European elections. You don't yet know who to vote for in the European elections? This app may be for you. Born out of and supported by the European Forum Alpbach and other European Democracy initiatives and European Institutions, it is a great way to help overcome voting laziness…! 🚀 Thank you Thomas Garnier, MariaSerra, Alberto Alemanno and many others for working on it, and to Philipp Schulmeister 🇪🇺 and Jaume Duch Guillot 🇪🇺 for disseminating Palumba in all EU liaisons offices. Thank you Klaudie Mrkusova and to the FAN Board for bringing this forward! Andreas Treichl Feri Thierry Marie Ringler Caroline Hornstein Tomić Irene Giner-Reichl Winfried Kneip Andreas Bierwirth Annamaria Toth Leopold Schmertzing Martin Alexander Schoeller Fabian Lukas Goslar Marcus von Jordan Help us disseminate it! Verena Pausder Tina Müller Katrin Suder Donata Hopfen Kati Najipoor-Smith Ariane Reinhart Finja Carolin Kütz Sylvie Matherat Isabel Hochgesand Daniela Weber-Rey Further information about the app: The principle is simple: like on the popular dating site Tinder, users “swipe” to the right for propositions with which they agree and to the left for those which they do not like. Additionally, the app offers options for mild approval or disapproval, as well as a neutral response. Reactions to the proposals are then “compared” with a political group in the European Parliament and redirected to the corresponding national lists depending on the origin of the user. The algorithm takes into account manifestos and public statements, but also historical voting patterns of the European Parliament, because for Palumba users it "shows better what they do and not just what they say that they will do ". Palumba will not only match political parties but, as with a classic dating profile, by clicking on the proposal, more details will be given: in this case, definitions and political context from verified sources. You can find out more at Palumba.org including a pitch deck!