by: Adrienne Bankert, Nexstar media cable
Posted: Jul 14, 2021 / 7:30 AM EDT
Updated: 7/14/2021 / 6:45 AM EDT
CHICAGO (NewsNation Now) – Social media influencers, ordinary people and in some cases healthcare workers are now using the platform to share their views on TikTok, but false claims are being spread about COVID-19, according to a new study.
From winking cues stating that pierogi will protect you from the virus, to more passionate claims based on false data, false side effects, and death tolls from the vaccine, the platform is swimming in vaccine fears.
Think tank The London Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) carried out the study. ISD analyst Ciaran O’Connor said she checked 124 uploads. Videos popularizing alarming and debunked statistics on the COVID-19 vaccines have over 20 million unique views and over 1.6 million likes.
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“You can share the sound and the sound separately. And what’s really important about this is that TikTok has shown signs that they are acting against these examples, ”said O’Connor.
This means that while the videos can be removed, the sound can be shared as a soundtrack that other users can cut off for their videos and encourage users to think that the vaccines are harmful.
At the time of this study, only two of the videos in the study contained a tag from TikTok, which indicates resources that provide scientifically backed COVID-19 data.
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“We strive to promote an authentic TikTok experience by limiting the distribution of misleading content, including audio, and by promoting authoritative information about COVID-19 and vaccines on our app,” TikTok said in a statement to NewsNationNow.com. “Misinformation is an industry-wide challenge, and we appreciate reports that help us take action in the event of violations.”
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