The WHO launches itself into pop information with TikTok
TikTok may be banned in the United States but in the meantime it has signed an agreement with the WHO to spread reliable health information and fight fake news through real healthcare influencers. All the details
The World Health Organization (WHO) and TikTok have signed an agreement with the aim of providing reliable, science-based health information. The collaboration will last a year and involve 800 influencers. However, the short video platform owned by Chinese giant ByteDance risks being banned in the United States starting next year.
THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN WHO AND TIKTOK
WHO and TikTok have announced a collaboration to promote health literacy through clear and trustworthy video content. The Geneva-based organization explained that 1 in 4 young adults actively seek out informative content on social media platforms, including TikTok, which exposes users to disinformation and misinformation. That's why the agreement aims to disseminate evidence-based content and encourage positive conversations about health.
In fact, at the moment, according to what has been declared by some scientific communicators who use TikTok, it happens that the platform does not work properly when, for example, it reports videos for misinformation even if the scientific sources are clearly shared or when it offers videos that contain fake news or pseudoscience.
WHO'S INFLUENCERS
But to promote the videos, TikTok will rely on a real network of healthcare influencers. In 2020, WHO launched Fides , a community of health content creators created to counter misinformation and raise the bar based on evidence. Today there are over 800 of them, reaching 150 million people across various platforms by breaking down stigmas, sharing impactful stories, providing resources to support those in need, and building strong communities.
TikTok, for its part, provides an audience of over 1 billion people globally. “We know that millions of people turn to TikTok every day to share and find community in all areas of their lives, including well-being, and we are committed to ensuring they can find trustworthy information on this important topic. That's why today we are delighted to partner with the World Health Organization's Fides health influencer network to further strengthen this commitment by bringing engaging and authoritative content on mental wellbeing to our community,” said Valiant Richey, Global Head of Trust and Safety TikTok Outreach and Partnerships.
Influencers will also receive training programs from WHO to translate scientific information into easy-to-understand and digestible video content.
THE UNCERTAIN FUTURE OF TIKTOK IN THE USA
The great success of TikTok, however, is put at risk by the possible sentence that awaits it next January in the United States when the new president or the new president decides whether to ban it in the country. In the US the platform has 170 million members , who spend an average of 53.8 minutes a day on it.
The news of a possible ban has mobilized thousands of influencers and users, and science communicators are some of TikTok's staunchest defenders. In fact, many argue that the platform provides free education to a large audience – as well as a significant revenue stream. Biologist Brooke Fitzwater, a doctoral candidate at the University of Alabama, for example, said that TikTok has become an essential tool for sharing her knowledge with around 250,000 followers and her short humorous videos have reached up to 2.1 million views . Furthermore, according to this community other social media such as Instagram and YouTube are not comparable in effectiveness.
“One of the advantages of TikTok – explained science communicator Emily Zawacki of the EarthScope Consortium – is its algorithm, which excels at exposing users to new topics, rather than content related to topics they are already interested in”. “You don't have to follow science-related accounts to see science content,” he said, “so there's great potential to reach audiences who may not seek out science content themselves.”
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/sanita/loms-si-lancia-nellinformazione-pop-con-tiktok/ on Tue, 01 Oct 2024 06:49:29 +0000.