BRUSSELS: Chinese social media company TikTok on Thursday pledged to do more to tackle disinformation on its platform by adding more safety features and broadening its fact-checking measures, spurred by the role played by state-controlled media and the war in Ukraine.
Presenting its progress report on what it did to live up to a beefed-up EU code of practice on disinformation in the past six months, the company acknowledged the need to step up its efforts.
“While we’re proud to be providing this level of granular detail for the first time, we recognize that there is more work to be done. In the coming months, we’re investing in a number of initiatives,” Caroline Greer, director of public policy and government relations, said in a blogpost.
TikTok would expand its state-controlled media labels, ramp up action against disinformation linked to Ukraine, expand its fact-checking program across Europe to include more language coverage, and scale up the volume of claims it fact-checked, she said.
The company would also strengthen its approach to disinformation in its advertising policies.
TikTok said in the past six months it removed 191 adverts that breached its ban on political actors placing advertising on its platform, and connected people to authoritative sources of information on COVID-19, the Holocaust, the war in Ukraine and other topics.
TikTok promises to ramp up fight against disinformation in EU
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TikTok promises to ramp up fight against disinformation in EU
- TikTok plead to expand its state-controlled media labels, fact-checking program, scale up volume of claims
Iceland joins Eurovision boycott over Israel’s participation
- Decision follows similar moves by Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland and Slovenia over the Gaza war
- Iceland’s national broadcaster says it pulled out 'given the public debate' in the country
LONDON: Iceland’s national broadcaster said Wednesday it will boycott next year’s Eurovision Song Contest because of discord over Israel’s participation, joining four other countries in a walkout of the pan-continental music competition.
Broadcasters in Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland and Slovenia told contest organizer the European Broadcasting Union last week that they will not take part in the contest in Vienna in May after organizers declined to expel Israel over its conduct of the war against Hamas in Gaza.
The board of Iceland’s RÚV met Wednesday to make a decision.
At its conclusion the broadcaster said in a statement that “given the public debate in this country ... it is clear that neither joy nor peace will prevail regarding the participation of RÚV in Eurovision. It is therefore the conclusion of RÚV to notify the EBU today that RÚV will not take part in Eurovision next year.”
“The Song Contest and Eurovision have always had the aim of uniting the Icelandic nation but it is now clear that this aim cannot be achieved and it is on these program-related grounds that this decision is taken,” the broadcaster said.
Last week the general assembly of the EBU — a group of public broadcasters from 56 countries that runs Eurovision — met to discuss concerns about Israel’s participation. Members voted to adopt tougher contest voting rules in response to allegations that Israel manipulated the vote in favor of its competitor, but took no action to exclude any broadcaster from the competition.
The pullouts include some big names in the Eurovision world. Spain is one of the “Big Five” large-market countries that contribute the most to the contest. Ireland has won seven times, a record it shares with Sweden.
Iceland, a volcanic North Atlantic island nation with a population of 360,000, has never won but has the highest per capita viewing audience of any country.
The walkouts cast a cloud over the future of what’s meant to be a feel-good cultural party marked by friendly rivalry and disco beats, dealing a blow to fans, broadcasters and the contest’s finances.
The contest, which turns 70 in 2026, strives to put pop before politics, but has repeatedly been embroiled in world events. Russia was expelled in 2022 after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
It has been roiled by the war in Gaza for the past two years, stirring protests outside the venues and forcing organizers to clamp down on political flag-waving.
Opponents of Israel’s participation cite the war in Gaza, where more than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which operates under the Hamas-run government and whose detailed records are viewed as generally reliable by the international community.
Israel’s government has repeatedly defended its campaign as a response to the attack by Hamas-led militants on Oct. 7, 2023. The militants killed around 1,200 people — mostly civilians — in the attack and took 251 hostage.
A number of experts, including those commissioned by a UN body, have said that Israel’s offensive in Gaza amounts to genocide, a claim Israel has vigorously denied.
Wednesday marked the final day for national broadcasters to announce whether they planned to participate. More than two dozen countries have confirmed they will attend the contest in Vienna, and the EBU says a final list of competing nations will be published before Christmas.
