TikTok Has Loads of Useful Information, but You Have to Verify Sources
Looking for a chewy chocolate-chip cookie recipe you can make in 10 minutes? Or tips on what to do if you win the lottery? What about fun budget-friendly date ideas? Millions of people now actively seek answers to those kinds of questions on TikTok, with 40% of 18- to 24-year-olds in the U.S. surveyed by Google saying they use TikTok to find information, a Google spokeswoman said.
Still, more people using TikTok for answers to their search questions doesn’t mean everyone is being steered to the best and most accurate information. After all, anyone can share on the platform, regardless of experience. And TikTok doesn’t always weigh search results for reliability.
Gabby Brauner, 27, said she was shocked to see how inflation had driven up the price of her beloved six pack of avocados in May. Fearing that the expensive fruit would get too ripe before she could enjoy them, she said she was relieved to find a video in her TikTok feed showing how to refrigerate the fruit in water to prevent it from turning brown. After videos of this hack gained popularity, a spokeswoman for the Food and Drug Administration said the storage suggestion was a bad idea. Pathogens on the avocado’s surface, such as salmonella and listeria, could flourish in water, even in a cold fridge, the spokeswoman said.
Inaccurate information can be found all over the internet. TikTok can exacerbate the problem because its algorithm sends you clip after clip based on the interests you reveal by tapping and watching. But it only knows if a video is factually accurate or not if it has been flagged or otherwise reviewed. Since the app’s design feels like a series of face-to-face video chats, we have a natural tendency to trust the speaker, said Abbie Richards, an independent misinformation researcher who specializes in TikTok. Lowering your guard can be risky if you are seeking knowledge that comes with higher stakes, such as health and wellness recommendations or current-events coverage, she added.
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A key component of TikTok is the more intimate-feeling relationship between the creators and the viewers. Over time, you build up a level of trust with particular creators. While it helps if you follow their content long enough to get a sense of what they know, you should always keep some skepticism. Go off platform to learn more about who these people are, the level of their expertise and why their voices are valuable to the conversation. You could look for their education or employment credentials on LinkedIn, for instance, or check the websites of companies or organizations with whom they say they are affiliated. What might seem like an innocent search can actually have risks, especially when one’s health is involved, said Scott Talan, a communications professor at American University. He said it is always good to do that additional research once you have used TikTok to generate some good leads.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/tiktok-has-loads-of-useful-information-but-you-have-to-verify-sources-11659815953 (subscription)
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