TikTok takes steps to curb misinformation ahead of U.S. election

Video-sharing app TikTok has updated itscontent policies to curb misinformation on its platform ahead ofthe presidential election in the United States, the company saidon Wednesday.

The app, which has come under fire by U.S. lawmakers and theTrump administration over national security concerns due to itsChinese ownership, said it was working with experts from theU.S. Department of Homeland Security to "protect against foreigninfluence."

TikTok said it would expand partnerships with PolitiFact andLead Stories to fact-check potential misinformation about theelection. It will also allow users to report vote-relatedmisinformation on the app, the company said in a blog post.

The company, which does not allow political advertising andsaid in the blog post it was not the "go-to app to follow newsor politics," has increasingly emerged as a platform forpolitical discourse and activism.

Users recently said theyhelped inflate attendance expectations at U.S. President DonaldTrump's June rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The hugely popular app, which allows users to create shortvideos with special effects and music clips, has also been usedto share false claims such as COVID-19 misinformation.

Social media companies struggleto fight misinformation

TikTok said it was adding a specific policy to prohibitsynthetic or manipulated content that misleads users in a waythat could cause harm.

In recent days, a viral doctored video of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had spread across social mediaplatforms, including TikTok.

The changes are the latest moves by TikTok to combatmisinformation, an issue that major social media companiesincluding Facebook and Twitter have longstruggled to police on their own platforms.

TikTok owner ByteDance is the first Chinese company toachieve global success with a consumer app.

However, amid rising U.S.-China tensions, the White Househas threatened to ban TikTok and other Chinese-owned apps,citing national security risks.

TikTok currently faces a deadline of Sept. 15 to either sellits U.S. operations to Microsoft Corp. or face anoutright ban.