TikTok’s search engine algorithm promotes anti-abortion propaganda
TikTok’s search engine is promoting anti-abortion propaganda when users search for information about medication abortions.
TikTok’s search bar, like those of many other social media platforms, allows users to search for specific words or phrases and then displays the top video results.
A Media Matters analysis found that searching for the terms “medical abortion,” “medication abortion,” and “mifepristone” (a drug used for the medical termination of pregnancy) on TikTok returns — as the top result — a video seemingly attempting to deter women from obtaining a medication abortion by misleading about what’s likely to happen during the experience.
Related Knowledge Center: Information integrity
In an increasingly fractured media landscape, truth has been a casualty in the public discussion. Coverage has been warped by the business needs of struggling news organizations, and a significant segment of the public relies on bad-faith outlets that are little more than propagandists. While fact-checking has become routine, some organizations are exploring other ways to combat the trends. And misinformation spewed by AI-driven chatbots has become more of a feature than simply a bug.
Fact-checking and its detractors
Related Knowledge Center: Social media
Social media platforms are the source of news for millions of people — and they have a fraught and ever-shifting relationship with the enterprises that provide that news.
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