Space Industry and Business News
INTERNET SPACE
TikTok tests letting users add informative 'Footnotes'
TikTok tests letting users add informative 'Footnotes'
by AFP Staff Writers
San Francisco (AFP) April 16, 2025

TikTok on Wednesday said it is testing a feature that would let people add "Footnotes" providing informative context to videos that might be misleading.

The feature being tested in the United States, where the short-form video sharing app has some 170 million users, appears similar to Community Notes on X, formerly Twitter.

Unlike X though, TikTok will continue its own fact-checking program to fight misinformation, head of operations Adam Presser said in a blog post.

"Footnotes will draw on the collective knowledge of the TikTok community by allowing people to add relevant information to content on our platform," Presser said.

"It will add to our suite of measures that help people understand the reliability of content and access authoritative sources, including our content labels, search banners, our fact-checking program, and more."

Adult US users who have been on TikTok for more than six months and haven't violated its community guidelines were invited to apply to contribute to Footnotes.

Contributors will also be able to rate Footnotes left by other people.

Footnotes deemed as "helpful" will be made visible on TikTok, at which point any users can vote on them as feedback regarding their merit, according to Presser.

"Whether the content discusses a complex STEM-related concept, shares statistics that could misrepresent a topic, or updates about an ongoing event, there may be additional context that could help others better understand it," Presser said.

"That's why we're building Footnotes."

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

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

As an alternative, Zuckerberg said Meta's platforms, Facebook and Instagram, would use "Community Notes," similar to the Elon Musk-owned X.

Community Notes is a crowd-sourced moderation tool that X has promoted as a way for users to add context to posts, but researchers have repeatedly questioned its effectiveness in combating falsehoods.

Supporters of President Donald Trump, among others, have contended without proof that conservative voices were being censored or stifled under the guise of fighting misinformation, a claim professional fact-checkers vehemently reject.

TikTok is adding Footnotes as its China-based parent company ByteDance faces a deadline to sell the app or have it banned in the United States.

Trump has said there was a deal on the sale of TikTok, but tariffs recently imposed by Washington on Beijing derailed it.

ByteDance, while confirming recently that it was in talks with the US government on finding a solution, warned that there remained "key matters" to resolve.

Related Links
Satellite-based Internet technologies

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
INTERNET SPACE
Facebook added 'value' to Instagram, Zuckerberg tells antitrust trial
Washington (AFP) April 16, 2025
Social media titan Mark Zuckerberg testified for a second day Tuesday in a landmark US antitrust trial, defending his conglomerate Meta against accusations it took over Instagram and WhatsApp to devour budding competitors. The federal court trial in Washington has dashed Zuckerberg's hopes that the return of President Donald Trump to the White House would see the government let up on the enforcement of antitrust law against Big Tech. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) attorney Daniel Matheson showed ... read more

INTERNET SPACE
Meta to start using Europeans' data for AI training May 27

Cambodia's Chinese casino city bets big on Beijing

Meta to train AI models on European users' public data

Sierra Space teams with Honda and Tec-Masters for ISS clean energy test

INTERNET SPACE
Trace wins major Army network contracts worth $373M

CesiumAstro joins Taiwan's initiative to build LEO satellite network

Senator questions canceling planned military satellites in favor of SpaceX

Skyloom completes OCT hardware deliveries for SDA York mission

INTERNET SPACE
INTERNET SPACE
Digging Gets Smarter with Trimble's Siteworks Upgrade for Excavators

Rx Networks launches TruePoint FOCUS to deliver real-time centimeter precision

Carbon Robotics debuts autonomous tractor system with live remote control capability

Towards resilient navigation in the Baltics without satellites

INTERNET SPACE
China tells airlines to suspend Boeing jet deliveries: report

Boeing faces fresh crisis with US-China trade war

In skies, as on land, European forces face gaps if US pulls back

Colombia to buy Swedish fighter jets after turning down France, US offers

INTERNET SPACE
Nvidia CEO in Beijing as US tech curbs, trade war threaten sales

Nvidia expects $5.5 bn hit as US targets chips sent to China

AMD says US rule on chips to China could cost it $800 mn

Europe seeks to break its US tech addiction

INTERNET SPACE
Hunga volcano eruption cooled, rather than warmed, the Southern Hemisphere

ESA's mini weather mission exceeds expectations

New geointelligence tool streamlines land mapping and resource planning

IRIDE satellite captures first high resolution image over Italy

INTERNET SPACE
Global plastic recycling rates 'stagnant' at under 10%: study

EU greenlights new microplastic rules after tensions

Clean streets vs business woes: pollution charge divides Londoners

Illegal mining on Indigenous lands in Brazil dropped under Lula: report

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.