AS Mzansi prepares for elections on 29 May, TikTok and the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) have announced initiatives to combat misinformation.
The partnership, announced on Tuesday, 23 April, in Rosebank, north of Joburg, will also ensure that users access information from reliable sources.
TikTok's Public Policy and Government Relations director, Fortune Mgwili-Sibanda, said: “Our in-app election centre has authoritative information about the South African elections from the IEC.
“In order to maximise the visibility and accessibility of our in-app centre, we have implemented labels on content associated with the 2024 general elections.”
He said these labels also serve as direct links to the centre, enabling viewers to access comprehensive information about the elections with a simple click.
“Additionally, we will facilitate access to popular election hashtags, ensuring that users searching for related content can effortlessly find and engage with relevant information," said Mgwili-Sibanda.
Leading civil society organisations are part of this initiative.
Information will be available in Zulu, Afrikaans, Sotho, Tswana and English.
Mgwili-Sibanda said: "Protecting the integrity of our platform, particularly around elections, is a responsibility we take seriously. We're proud to be a place that brings people together, and we work hard to keep harmful misinformation off our platform.”
ALSO READ: Water is running low in these kasis
He emphasised that TikTok doesn’t allow paid political advertising, and accounts belonging to politicians or political parties cannot advertise or make money on the platform.
IEC CEO Sy Mamabolo said the rapid increased use of digital media in recent years has seen a corresponding surge in digital disinformation, particularly on social media platforms.
He said electoral processes have not been spared.
“Left unchecked, this phenomenon stands to undermine the conduct of credible elections. We applaud TikTok for its efforts in educating the TikTok community and combating the potential spread of harmful misinformation," said Mamabolo.
He also welcomed steps TikTok has taken to create a page for useful verified educational information about these elections.
TikTok has also joined forces with Africa Check for a media literacy campaign in the lead-up to and during the South African elections.
This collaboration will introduce a groundbreaking first for the platform, which is the inclusion of sign language.
