From China to Vietnam, the battle against misinformation on Generation Z’s favorite social media platform continues.
By Dymples Leong
March 15, 2020
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently classified COVID-19 as a pandemic and the disease’s spread has disrupted many aspects of people’s lives. Around the world, schools are being shut down, offices are being closed, and people are being quarantined at home to minimize the spread of the virus. With “social distancing” in full swing, people have turned to social media to stay in touch with friends and find out the latest developments in the battle against the virus. Young adults, especially Generation Z (born between 1997 – 2012) increasingly turn to TikTok, the popular social media app to connect with one another.
However, the spread of misinformation about COVID-19 on social media platforms has led to confusion, fear, and even violence. The WHO termed the deluge of COVID-19 related misinformation as an “infodemic” – an over-abundance of information, making it hard and confusing to find trustworthy sources and reliable advice. What steps have open-sourced social media platforms such as TikTok taken to combat the infodemic?
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