TikTok is leading the charge in banning content that includes climate change denial and pseudosciences that may spread misinformation about the reality of our overheating planet.
"Trust and authenticity fuel the creativity of TikTok — and we believe we have an important role to play in empowering informed climate discussions on our platform," the company wrote on its blog. "This week, we are introducing several initiatives that will help reduce harmful climate change misinformation while elevating authoritative information year-round."
TikTok, inspired by the notion to "Invest in Our Planet," began further enforcing its climate change misinformation policy on April 21, coinciding with Earth Day on April 22.
The move follows similar efforts by social media sites such as Facebook and YouTube, which both prohibit spreading false or misleading climate change–related information with varying degrees of success.
TikTok's policy aims to remove "climate change misinformation that undermines well-established scientific consensus, such as content denying the existence of climate change or the factors that contribute to it."
This new policy includes using TikTok's Safety Partners Program, which is a program that helps users and employees with digital literacy, wellness, and security.
TikTok's independent fact-checking partners will work to check over climate change content and ensure that all the information presented is accurate and helpful. Hopefully, these attempts will counter TikTok's reputation as an epicenter for climate change deniers and pseudosciences.
These new climate change initiatives come during a turbulent time in TikTok's history. The U.S. federal government has been interested in banning TikTok from personal devices. Whether these attempts succeed is still up in the air. Regardless, through enforcing this new policy and developing reliable fact-checking systems, TikTok hopes to promote knowledge and encourage understanding.
As temperatures worldwide continue to rise, it is more important than ever that people are informed about our changing climate and its implications.
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