TikTok Starts Applying Labels To Content From State-controlled Accounts

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In response to the war in Ukraine, TikTok is rolling out its state media policy to label content from some state-controlled media accounts.

After testing a new policy for state media since last year, TikTok is now “expediting” the rollout of a new system of labeling state-controlled accounts.

“In response to the war in Ukraine, we’re expediting the rollout of our state media policy to bring viewers context to evaluate the content they consume on our platform,” the post reads.

“Over the past several months we’ve engaged over 50 experts from multi-disciplinary backgrounds across 20 countries to inform our definition of state-controlled media – entities for which a government exercises direct or indirect control over their editorial content or decision-making – and our approach to making such designations.”

A TikTok spokesperson told The Verge that the labels would be applied to at least some Russian state media accounts and would be visible globally. However, they didn’t specify which or how many accounts would be subjected to the new labeling system. At least one Russian state-controlled outlet, RT, has a verified account on TikTok.

In response to the war in Ukraine, TikTok is rolling out its state media policy to label content from some state-controlled media accounts.

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Other social media platforms started placing similar labels on accounts a few years ago. Facebook, for example, started labeling state-owned media channels on its platform in mid-2020, while YouTube began to add them back in 2018.