Written by Jenine Abudiab. Published by Ayesha Nadeem
Americans are getting news from Tiktok, and it’s growing.
A small portion of U.S. adults report getting news from Tiktok. And this number is growing. This is unlike other social media platforms, where news consumption has either dropped or stayed the same. In 2020, 3% of U.S. adults were described to get news from tiktok. But now in 2022, it has increased to 10%. It tripled. TikTok is now one of the most used social media sites and has become increasingly popular. Adults under the age of 30, are the most probable group to get news from TikTok. How could this be dangerous?
Fake news has been growing on TikTok and to combat this, they had to delete fake news videos. Almost 350,000 videos containing misinformation about the US 2020 presidential election were removed. And 50,000 about false Covid-19 news. News posts always spread quickly, but this isn’t a positive thing, if the news is misinformed. You might believe the fake news and spread it to family or friends, furthering the growth of news misinformation.
Matsa, Katerina Eva. “More Americans Are Getting News on TikTok, Bucking the Trend on Other Social Media Sites.” Pew Research Center, 21 Oct. 2022, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/10/21/more-americans-are-getting-news-on-tiktok-bucking-the-trend-on-other-social-media-sites.
“TikTok: ‘Fake News’ or a Reliable Source?” The Butler Collegian, 8 Sept. 2021, thebutlercollegian.com/2021/09/tiktok-fake-news-or-a-reliable-source.