TikTok is launching a new section called the 'STEM feed' dedicated to fact-checked science content to combat the spread of viral falsehoods. The initiative aims to provide users with accurate information about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
Vaccines make you magnetic. Stuffing garlic into your nostrils cures COVID-19. Disgraced rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs lit the Los Angeles fires to conceal his alleged crimes and, also, sunscreen is bad for you.
“I’m all for it – battling misinformation is a constant uphill battle for science communicators,” Dr Kirsten Banks, a Sydney astrophysicist who’s built a 420,000-strong following on TikTok, said. The RFS’s involvement comes as fact-checkers race to hose down conspiracy theories backed by X owner Elon Musk about the LA fire disaster, including that the city fire department’s diversity programs have“The ability to use ‘popular sounds’ on TikTok has seemingly spurred the trend on, with users lip-syncing to a clip stating ‘I mean, I’d rather die hot than live ugly’ whilst showing off their tan lines,” Swinburne University social media researcher Lauren Miller said.
TIKTOK MISINFORMATION SCIENCE STEM FACT-CHECKING
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