TikTok launches new labels for ‘unverified content’

TikTok said Wednesday it is launching new labels to warn users about content with unsubstantiated claims that don’t rise to the level of the platform removing the videos. 

The new labels use a series of prompts to caution users over videos that include “unverified content,” TikTok said in a blog post. 

The push comes as TikTok faces increased scrutiny over its handling of misinformation as the video-sharing app continues to rise in popularity.

A video with content that has been reviewed but “cannot be conclusively validated” will have a caution banner across it noting that it has been flagged for unverified content. The content creator will also be notified the video was flagged, TikTok said. 

If a viewer attempts to share the flagged video, they will see an additional prompt warning the video contains “unverified content” and asking the user if they want to cancel or continue sharing the flagged content. 

“We love that our community’s creativity encourages people to share TikTok videos with others who might enjoy them — both within our platform and beyond — but we’ve designed this feature to help our users be mindful about what they share,” TikTok said in the post. 

The app said that when testing the new approach it found viewers decreased the rate at which they shared videos by 24 percent, and “likes” on unsubstantiated content also decreased by 7 percent. 

The new labels build on TikTok’s existing policy of removing content identified as misinformation.