The first TikTok election has a misinformation problem

外网TK资讯5个月前发布 Ming
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The first TikTok election has a misinformation problem

Who is winning the TikTok election? Is it the Reform Party, thanks to Nigel Farage’s viral videos? Shitposts from the Lib Dems? You might say it’s the memes posted by the Labour Party or the occasionally popular hit videos by the Conservatives about Keir Starmer.

These questions have dominated media discussions of social media’s influence on this election over the past month. Viewer counts, likes and followers have been used as evidence of who is succeeding and who is failing to connect with younger voters in the first TikTok election campaign. A cursory glance at these numbers reflect the polls: policy videos from Labour – about housing or the NHS – cut through to TikTok’s core demographic, while the most popular candidate on the app is Nigel Farage, aligning with Reform UK’s recent surge.

But this isn’t the full picture of online influence. Major social media platforms – particularly TikTok – have seen a sharp rise in political deepfakes, doctored videos and misinformation that are outpacing official content from parties and politicians. A BBC investigation found two weeks into the election campaign that TikTok users were being served a high volume of AI-generated deepfake videos featuring party leaders, such as ones of Rishi Sunak appearing to say he would use public funds to send his “mates loads of dosh”, alongside more obvious fakes, such as videos claiming the Conservatives’ national service programme would send British teens into war zones. Other content includes the widespread, false claim that Keir Starmer was responsible for not prosecuting Jimmy Savile. These videos weren’t only being shared by bots or anonymous accounts, but by celebrities, political activists, students and influencers. Their popularity is easy to understand: these videos are far punchier, more salacious and entertaining than the overwhelmingly staid content from official sources that seem all too obviously made by an elder-millennial marketing officer.

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