Last time you scrolled the \u201cFor You\u201d page on TikTok, did you get a video about current events? Politics? Breaking news?<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re one of the\u00a063% of teens<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a033% of adults<\/a>\u00a0in the U.S. who uses TikTok, you probably have. But where did it come from? Who created it? And should you believe what it told you?<\/p>\n As a communication researcher who has\u00a0studied news content on social media<\/a>\u00a0for over a decade, I can share three crucial things to know about news you get on TikTok: What videos count as news, how they got to you, and what you should do when you see them.<\/p>\n These are three of what media researchers know as the \u201c5 C\u2019s\u201d of news literacy<\/a>: content, circulation and consumption. While they can be applied to any kind of news use, they are especially important for TikTok, where anyone can create content, and the algorithm decides what we see.<\/p>\n First C: Content<\/strong><\/p>\n TikTok is full of user-generated content \u2013 content that is created by other users on the app rather than official news organizations \u2013 so it\u2019s important to think about what is in your feed. This means knowing what is actually news and what is something else, like opinion or advertising.<\/p>\n Any user can post their opinion, whether or not it\u2019s backed up by any proof.\u00a0TikTok has some rules about what cannot be posted<\/a>, such as content that is considered inappropriate for minors or harmful content like harassment or hate speech. Still, anyone can post their own ideas about anything, including current events. This means that just because a video is on the app doesn\u2019t make it true.<\/p>\n TikTok has become a major player in advertising, with\u00a0ad revenues in the U.S. alone expected to reach over US$13 billion in 2026<\/a>. TikTok does its best to make videos that have been boosted with paid advertising look like any other content. You may have seen videos that seem like \u201creal\u201d content \u2013 uncompensated thoughts from an individual user \u2013 only to discover that they\u2019re part of a paid brand partnership.<\/p>\n However, the platform\u00a0does have rules about ads<\/a>\u00a0and gives some clues for identifying paid posts. Look for a \u201csponsored\u201d or \u201cad\u201d label near the video\u2019s caption or username. Another thing to look for is what\u2019s called a \u201ccall-to-action\u201d in the caption, like \u201ctap the link to learn more!\u201d<\/p>\n TikTok doesn\u2019t have specific rules for sharing news, and it doesn\u2019t separate news from other categories of information, like opinion, comedy or video blogs. Journalists at reputable news outlets, on the other hand,\u00a0must follow certain standards<\/a>.<\/p>\n For one, journalists will vet and cite their sources. That means they will share who they interviewed or what expert gave them their information, and that they\u2019ve done research to make sure it\u2019s a trustworthy source in the first place. They and their publication\u2019s editors will also verify or fact-check content to make sure it\u2019s true. So a video that shares news content should state where the information is from and link to that source.<\/p>\n Second C: Circulation<\/strong><\/p>\n If you didn\u2019t search for a TikTok video,\u00a0it probably found you<\/a>. By now,\u00a0regular social media users know<\/a>\u00a0that TikTok has\u00a0an algorithm that decides what content to show them<\/a>. Algorithms are equations that learn what you like and decide how to recommend more of the same content to you.<\/p>\n On TikTok, you can click on \u201cShare\u201d and then \u201cWhy this video\u201d to learn more about\u00a0why a video was recommended for you<\/a>. Usually, it\u2019s because you\u2019ve watched, liked or commented on similar content, searched for related topics or followed similar accounts. Recommendations also include videos that were posted recently near you and topics that are popular where you live.<\/p>\n The most important thing to remember is that each TikTok user is getting their own customized feed of content based on their behavior. Unlike in the past, when more of our news came from mainstream media \u2013 such as reading the same city newspaper or watching the same local news \u2013 now we may not know what news someone else is getting. If you see a lot of content about the same topic, that\u2019s likely because of the algorithm customizing your feed, not necessarily because it\u2019s the most important topic in the news.<\/p>\n Third C: Consumption<\/strong><\/p>\n You probably know about \u201cfake news\u201d \u2013 what researchers usually call misinformation \u2013 and that there is a lot of it online. Social media apps know it too, and have tried different ways to keep it from spreading,\u00a0like using fact-checkers to flag problematic content<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, my team\u2019s own research shows that\u00a0these fact-checking programs may not be very successful<\/a>. Some apps, like Facebook and Instagram, are even\u00a0stopping fact-checking programs<\/a>\u00a0altogether. While TikTok doesn\u2019t allow disinformation campaigns that are intended to deceive people,\u00a0the app doesn\u2019t prohibit people from sharing information that is simply inaccurate<\/a>.<\/p>\n That means, beyond the clues you already read about above, you will need to develop your own skills in judging what\u2019s real on TikTok.<\/p>\n First, think about your own opinions and biases. We all have them!\u00a0Even news organizations can have biases<\/a>, meaning some of them tend to report news from a certain political viewpoint.<\/p>\n The more you engage with content you already agree with, the more you will get of it, and\u00a0the stronger your opinions can become about it<\/a>. Instead, think about what other viewpoints exist and search for content from their side. One way to do this is to seek out content from\u00a0reputable news organizations across the political spectrum<\/a>.<\/p>\n Second, pay attention to where you get information. Is all your news coming from social media? Research shows that Americans who rely on social media as their main source of news\u00a0are less knowledgeable<\/a>\u00a0than those who get news from almost any other news source. In a 2020 study, they couldn\u2019t answer as many questions about current events like Donald Trump\u2019s impeachment and the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, and were more likely to come across conspiracy theories. Pick a news website or two and sign up for their alerts instead.<\/p>\n Finally, continue to evaluate the content on your \u201cFor You\u201d page. You don\u2019t need to stop using TikTok, but do keep looking for those clues about whether information is credible: Who is it from? Is it a journalist, a news organization? Or maybe it was a\u00a0news influencer<\/a>, someone who has a large following on social media for sharing current events but who is not necessarily a journalist. Do they cite and link to sources?<\/p>\n If you can\u2019t find this information, you should search about the topic online. If you don\u2019t find any reputable news organizations reporting on it, you may want to think again about trusting it and sharing it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n