London, 4 June 2024 – A bombshell investigation by Global Witness has revealed alarming vulnerabilities in TikTok’s advertising approval process, raising serious concerns about the platform’s ability to combat election disinformation ahead of the crucial European parliamentary elections. The investigation found that TikTok approved 16 advertisements containing blatant disinformation targeted at Irish voters, despite the platform’s claims of rigorous review procedures. These ads contained a range of false and misleading information, including instructions to vote online or by text – methods not permitted in Ireland – inaccurate information about voting age requirements, and even incitement of violence against immigrant voters. The findings raise urgent questions about TikTok’s compliance with new EU regulations designed to mitigate the spread of disinformation during elections.
The investigation, conducted in the lead-up to the European elections, involved submitting 16 advertisements to TikTok containing disinformation that clearly violated both the platform’s own advertising policies and the EU’s Digital Services Act. Examples of the disinformation included false claims about altered ballots, fabricated health concerns leading to polling station closures, and misleading information about voter ID requirements. Global Witness allowed 48 hours for TikTok’s review process, ample time for the platform to identify and reject the problematic content. Shockingly, TikTok approved every single advertisement for publication. This failure stands in stark contrast to the performance of other social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube, which rejected all or most of the similar disinformation ads submitted by Global Witness in this parallel test.
In response to the investigation’s findings, TikTok attributed the approvals to human error by a moderator who has since undergone retraining. The company stated that all 16 ads violated its policies and were initially flagged by its systems, but were subsequently approved due to this oversight. TikTok also claims to have implemented new practices for moderating political ads. However, this explanation raises further questions about the adequacy of TikTok’s existing safeguards and the effectiveness of its newly instituted practices. The investigation’s results are particularly concerning given that a similar Global Witness investigation in the run up to the 2022 US midterm elections found that TikTok approved 90% of the tested election disinformation ads. This suggests a pattern of failure to adequately address this critical issue.
The implications of these findings are far-reaching, particularly in the context of the upcoming European elections. With over 370 million eligible voters across 27 member states, the elections are taking place against a backdrop of complex geopolitical challenges, including the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the climate crisis, and heightened tensions surrounding migration. These circumstances make the spread of disinformation even more dangerous, with the potential to manipulate public opinion and undermine democratic processes. The failure of platforms like TikTok to effectively combat disinformation poses a significant threat to the integrity of these elections. Moreover, with several countries lowering the voting age, a growing number of young people – a demographic heavily reliant on platforms like TikTok for information – are particularly vulnerable to manipulation.
Global Witness emphasizes the urgency of this issue and calls on the EU to take swift action to ensure TikTok and other social media platforms comply with the Digital Services Act. They have filed a formal complaint with the EU regulator, providing evidence of TikTok’s failures to inform enforcement action. The organization also stresses the need for greater transparency and accountability from social media companies, urging them to publicly disclose their ad repositories and the impact of their content moderation policies. Specifically, Global Witness calls for proper resourcing and transparent reporting on election integrity efforts, robust enforcement of disinformation policies, public access to ad repositories for all countries, public evaluations of content moderation policies’ impact on democracy, and equitable application of these measures across all elections globally.
The European market represents a significant user base for TikTok, with 142 million users reported across EU member states. The platform’s popularity among young people, particularly as a source of political information, makes its failure to address disinformation even more troubling. Global Witness warns that a failure to stop disinformation is a failure of the platform’s responsibility to users seeking to make informed electoral choices. They argue that no platform should allow the derailing of democratic participation, and given TikTok’s influence on young voters, the platform bears a particularly significant responsibility to safeguard the integrity of the electoral process. The upcoming European elections serve as a critical test for TikTok and other social media platforms to demonstrate their commitment to combating disinformation and protecting the democratic process. The findings of this investigation underscore the urgent need for robust action and increased accountability to ensure that these platforms are not exploited to undermine elections and manipulate public opinion.