TikTok is testing a brand new “Footnotes” function that works equally to Group Notes on X. The social community introduced on Wednesday that Footnotes will permit customers so as to add further context and related data to movies to assist others higher perceive sure content material, beginning in the US.
The corporate says Footnotes will complement its present suite of measures designed to assist individuals perceive the reliability of content material, equivalent to content material labels and its fact-checking program. In different phrases, TikTok isn’t changing fact-checking with Footnotes, in contrast to Meta, which is doing precisely that by way of its new Group Notes function.
Just like different neighborhood notes methods on X and Fb, Footnotes makes use of a bridge-based rating system designed to seek out settlement between individuals who normally have totally different opinions, the corporate says in a blog post.
The system works by permitting customers who’ve differing opinions to depart and vote on the helpfulness of a footnote. Footnotes will solely turn out to be seen to the neighborhood as soon as they’re rated as “useful.” At this level, the broader TikTok neighborhood can vote on their helpfulness as properly. TikTok says the system will turn out to be more practical as extra footnotes get written and rated on totally different subjects.
Whereas TikTok’s feedback part and different instruments like Sew and Duet permit customers to share dialogue round a video, the brand new Footnotes function provides customers a brand new method to share their experience and add a layer of context utilizing a consensus-driven strategy to boost credibility. TikTok factors out that Footnotes could possibly be notably helpful in cases the place movies cowl advanced STEM subjects, embrace probably deceptive statistics, or share updates on ongoing occasions.
The launch of the brand new function comes as TikTok has been referred to as out for spreading misinformation about important topics like health and elections. TikTok possible hopes that the introduction of Footnotes will assist curb the unfold of a few of this misinformation by enlisting its person base so as to add credibility and extra context to movies.
Beginning immediately, United States customers can apply to be a Footnotes contributor if they’re at the least 18 years outdated, have been on the platform for greater than six months, and haven’t any latest historical past of violating TikTok’s neighborhood pointers.
TikTok plans to start surfacing Footnotes from contributors over the approaching months. In the intervening time, it’s unknown what precisely Footnotes will seem like, and the place on a video they’ll seem.
TikTok says it continues “to accomplice with greater than 20 IFCN-accredited fact-checking organizations to evaluate the accuracy of content material on TikTok in over 60 languages and 130 markets world wide. Footnotes provides to those efforts with extra methods so as to add useful particulars which may be lacking, finally enriching discussions on TikTok and enhancing the expertise for viewers, contributors, and creators alike.”