TikTok Now Receives Community Notes Too
TikTok is joining the social media ranks with Community Notes programs, which allow users to add context, corrections and additional information to posts on the platform. The new feature is called Footnotes , and it will first roll out to short videos in the US.
TikTok is the latest app to allow user notes to be added to existing content, although it has not yet completely abandoned formal fact-checking and other content moderation. In February, Meta announced plans to create a beta version of Community Notes to replace fact checking on Facebook, Instagram and Threads, and is now accepting participants from the program’s waitlist. YouTube and X also have active Community Notes programs (X’s Community Notes, formerly known as Birdwatch, has replaced the ability to report misleading content).
According to the TikTok page explaining the program , footnotes can only be added to public posts, but they will remain visible if those posts are made private. Authors can add footnotes to their content and rate them if they are registered members. Footnotes must meet a threshold of “usefulness” as rated by participants before they are visible to all users (who can then also vote on them).
TikTok will continue to work with IFCN-accredited fact-checking organizations to evaluate the accuracy of content on the platform.
How to Register to Write Footnotes on TikTok
Users in the US can apply to write footnotes starting today if they are at least 18 years old, have been on TikTok for at least six months, have a valid US email address or phone number, and have not violated the platform’s community guidelines in the last six months. TikTok may also notify users who meet these eligibility requirements, and those approved for the program may begin contributing “in the coming months.”