TikTok, once a digital space mainly for fun viral dances, nail hacks, food recipes and song covers, now seemingly has Gen Z users using it as their primary search engine instead of Google, as recently reported by The New York Times.
This has the potential to be a serious problem.
NewsGuard, a site that tracks misinformation throughout the internet, provided a new study that found one in five search results on TikTok contain inaccuracies. The study examined the top 20 search results throughout 27 dissimilar news topics, ranging from “2022 election” to “mRNA vaccine.” NewsGuard’s study also discovered that TikTok suggested biased search terms to users.
Insider reported, “If a user searched for ‘covid vaccine,’ TikTok would offer suggestions for more biased search terms such as ‘covid vaccine truths’ or ‘covid vaccine hiv.’”
The study also showed that more than 50% of the search results found regarding the 2022 midterm elections contained “hyper-partisan, left-leaning rhetoric.”
Considering the number of home remedy videos that have gained popularity across the platform, the chance of running across widespread misinformation on TikTok is high. In May of this year, Newsweek reported that the ceaseless shortage of baby formula has led to plenty of videos encouraging others to try DIY methods for baby formula, which pediatricians have labeled as dangerous.
When the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was publicized, natural herbal abortion remedies started trending on TikTok, according to Rolling Stone. From mugwort, a flowering plant, to bitter garnish parsley, these were some of the ideas posted on the platform that were considered natural medicaments for abortion.
Insider also reported that herbal supplements to induce abortions are toxic — and even deadly — when taken in high doses. A now-deleted TikTok video suggesting that mugwort can induce a miscarriage gained over 1 million views on the platform, and The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) confirmed that “very little research has been done on Mugwort in people.”
Many of us still use Google to search for important things and TikTok for fun videos. Which platform is your go-to?
