TikTok Allowed Disinformation in Political Ads Despite Ban, Global Witness Report Reveals
Just weeks before the U.S. presidential election, TikTok approved advertisements that contained election disinformation even though it has a ban on political ads, according to a report published Thursday by the nonprofit Global Witness. The technology and environmental watchdog group submitted ads that it designed to test how well systems at social media companies work in detecting different types of election misinformation.
The group, which conducted a similar investigation two years ago, found that companies, especially Facebook, have improved their content moderation systems since then. However, Global Witness called out TikTok for approving four of the eight ads submitted for review that contained falsehoods about the election, despite the platform’s ban on all political ads in place since 2019.
The ads never appeared on TikTok because Global Witness pulled them before they went online. TikTok spokesman Ben Rathe stated, “Four ads were incorrectly approved during the first stage of moderation, but did not run on our platform. We do not allow political advertising and will continue to enforce this policy on an ongoing basis.”
Meta Platforms Inc., which owns Facebook, fared better, approving just one of the eight submitted ads, as per the report. Meta stated that while the report’s scope was limited, they are constantly evaluating and improving their enforcement efforts. Google’s YouTube performed the best, approving four ads but not allowing any to be published. It asked for more identification from the Global Witness testers before publication and ‘paused’ their account when they didn’t comply.
The report mentioned that companies typically have stricter policies for paid ads compared to regular user posts. The ads submitted by Global Witness contained outright false claims about the election, such as stating that Americans can vote online, along with false information aimed at suppressing voting, like claims that voters must pass an English test before casting a ballot. Other fake ads encouraged violence or threatened electoral workers and processes.
It is crucial for social media platforms to enforce robust moderation policies, especially concerning political ads that could potentially misinform and manipulate voters. TikTok’s oversight in approving such misleading content despite its ban on political ads raises concerns about the effectiveness of their moderation processes, which could have serious implications during election campaigns.