Energy News
CYBER WARS
TikTok launches crowd-sourced debunking tool in US
TikTok launches crowd-sourced debunking tool in US
By Anuj CHOPRA
Washington (AFP) July 30, 2025

TikTok on Wednesday rolled out a crowd-sourced debunking system in the United States, becoming the latest tech platform to adopt a community-driven approach to combating online misinformation.

Footnotes, a feature that the popular video-sharing app began testing in April, allows vetted users to suggest written context for content that might be wrong or misleading -- similar to Community Notes on Meta and X.

"Footnotes draws on the collective knowledge of the TikTok community by allowing people to add relevant information to content," Adam Presser, the platform's head of operations and trust and safety, said in a blog post.

"Starting today, US users in the Footnotes pilot program can start to write and rate footnotes on short videos, and our US community will begin to see the ones rated as helpful -- and rate them, too," he added.

TikTok said nearly 80,000 US-based users, who have maintained an account for at least six months, have qualified as Footnotes contributors. The video-sharing app has some 170 million US users.

TikTok said the feature will augment the platform's existing integrity measures such as labeling content that cannot be verified and partnering with fact-checking organizations, such as AFP, to assess the accuracy of posts on the platform.

The crowd-sourced verification system was popularized by Elon Musk's platform X, but researchers have repeatedly questioned its effectiveness in combating falsehoods.

Earlier this month, a study found more than 90 percent of X's Community Notes are never published, highlighting major limits in efficacy.

The Digital Democracy Institute of the Americas (DDIA) study analyzed the entire public dataset of 1.76 million notes published by X between January 2021 and March 2025.

TikTok cautioned it may take some time for a footnote to become public, as contributors get started and become more familiar with the feature.

"The more footnotes get written and rated on different topics, the smarter and more effective the system becomes," Presser said.

Tech platforms increasingly view the community-driven model as an alternative to professional fact-checking.

Earlier this year, Meta ended its third-party fact-checking program in the United States, with chief executive Mark Zuckerberg saying it had led to "too much censorship."

The decision was widely seen as an attempt to appease President Donald Trump, whose conservative base has long complained that fact-checking on tech platforms serves to curtail free speech and censor right-wing content.

Professional fact-checkers vehemently reject the claim.

As an alternative, Zuckerberg said Meta's platforms, Facebook and Instagram, would use "Community Notes."

Studies have shown Community Notes can work to dispel some falsehoods, like vaccine misinformation, but researchers have long cautioned that it works best for topics where there is broad consensus.

Some researchers have also cautioned that Community Notes users can be motivated to target political opponents by partisan beliefs.

Related Links
Cyberwar - Internet Security News - Systems and Policy Issues

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
CYBER WARS
China urges global consensus on balancing AI development, security
Shanghai (AFP) July 26, 2025
China's Premier Li Qiang warned Saturday that artificial intelligence development must be weighed against the security risks, saying global consensus was urgently needed even as the tech race between Beijing and Washington shows no sign of abating. His remarks came just days after US President Donald Trump unveiled an aggressive low-regulation strategy aimed at cementing US dominance in the fast-moving field, promising to "remove red tape and onerous regulation" that could hinder private sector AI d ... read more

CYBER WARS
US Energy Department misrepresents climate science in new report

UN climate chief challenges Australia to curb emissions

China hails 'positive' ICJ ruling on climate reparations

Major economies welcome 'milestone' ICJ climate ruling

CYBER WARS
Battery sharing model boosts savings for local energy communities

US to impose steep anti-dumping duty on battery material from China

China tightens export curbs on some battery technologies

In Indonesia, a start-up captures coolants to stop global warming

CYBER WARS
Drone swarm explores turbulent airflows near wind turbines

Dogs on the trail of South Africa's endangered tortoises

UK ditches mega green energy supply project from Morocco

Trump admin ends halt on New York offshore wind project

CYBER WARS
Mapping the regions where solar energy cuts carbon emissions most effectively

Bio inspired design approach aims to enhance durability and scalability of perovskite solar cells

Increasing solar energy use offers key opportunity to reduce US carbon emissions

Perovskite solar cell performance shows seasonal variation in long-term field test

CYBER WARS
Joint KIT and EU Effort Aims to Advance Nuclear Safety and Scientific Expertise

Russia wants to mine Niger's uranium, energy minister says

Three drones detected in Japan nuclear plant

Atomic Brussels? Support for nuclear power gains ground in EU

CYBER WARS
Electron beam method converts Teflon waste into reusable gases

Electron beam recycling turns heat resistant plastics into valuable gases

Italy fines oil giant Eni over bioplastic market abuse

Acid vapor boosts durability of carbon dioxide-to-fuel devices

CYBER WARS
New Zealand reverses ban on offshore oil and gas exploration

Fossil-fuel pledge in EU-Trump deal sparks climate fears

Shell net profit retreats on lower energy prices

Norwegian cousins battle over oil, climate policy

CYBER WARS
US pushes to revoke scientific ruling that underpins climate regulations

World court climate ruling: non-binding but game changing

Hundreds protest over water shortages in drought-hit Iraq

Trump administration expected to say greenhouse gases aren't harmful

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.