TikTok rolls out in-app guide ahead of US polls to provide 'authoritative information'

Chinese short-video sharing app TikTok on September 29 launched an in-app guide to the 2020 US elections to provide users with poll-related information. TikTok said that the guide connects 100 million Americans with trusted information about the elections from the National Association of Secretaries of State, BallotReady, SignVote, and other reliable nonpartisan organisations. 

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TikTok said that the guide will provide users with information about candidates at the federal, state, and local level, how to vote in every state, and educational videos about misinformation, media literacy, the elections process, etc. Information on these issues will be provided by BallotReady, National Association of Secretaries of State, MediaWise respectively. The guide will also provide information in multiple languages, including English and Spanish. 

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The guide also contains information on how to vote as a person with disabilities with the help of SignVote, how to vote as an overseas citizen or service member through the Federal Voting Assistance Program, how to vote as a student with the help of Campus Vote Project, and how to vote as a person with past convictions with help from Restore Your Vote. 

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"Of course, TikTok isn't the go-to app for breaking news or politics, and we don't accept paid political ads on our app. Still, we know TikTok is a home where Americans express themselves – and with that in mind, we're focused on supporting our users with education and authoritative information on important public issues. Our goal is to keep TikTok a place where authentic content can thrive, and our elections guide reflects our ongoing efforts to protect the integrity of our platform and the US elections," the company said in a release on their website. 

TikTok-US govt tiff

This comes as the Bytedance-owned company is in a midst of a targetting campaign launched by the Trump administration on the Chinese app. The US government is seeking a ban on TikTok citing security concerns and threats to the personal data of millions of Americans. Donald Trump has asked ByteDance to divest TikTok and sell the US operations to an American firm of it wants to stay online in the country. 

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