TikTok announced that it will start labeling videos from some state-controlled media outlets as it begins rolling out a new national media policy. According to a news report from the company, the company is accelerating plans to pilot its policy as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The company said it began working on the policy last year. According to the post, users can expect the hashtags to start appearing in the next few days.
A TikTok spokesperson told The Verge by email that the hashtags will be applied to at least some Russian state media accounts, without specifying which or how many. The Verge confirmed that at least one Russian state-controlled media outlet, RT, has a verified account on TikTok. The spokesperson also said the labels will be visible “globally” after launch.
Many social media platforms have had similar tags for some time — YouTube added them back in 2018, while Twitter and Facebook started applying them in 2020.
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, many platforms took action against the content of Russian state-controlled media such as RT and Sputnik – Reddit banned links to these media, Facebook and YouTube blocked their content in Europe, and many other companies have a way to make their stories harder to come by.
In turn, the Russian government has announced that it will block Facebook within its borders, citing “discrimination against Russian media and information resources.” The country’s communications agency also asked TikTok to answer why certain stories from a national news agency were removed.