Humanitarians on TikTok
5 Lessons on Combatting Misinformation During COVID-19
“It’s been a while since a new social app got big enough, quickly enough, to make non-users feel they’re missing out from an experience,” wrote the New York Times in 2019.
Fast-forward to 2020, TikTok has been downloaded 1.5 billion times, spearheading the third generation of social media.
But what is it? TikTok allows content creators to produce and share short videos. It is mainly aimed at youth, but its popularity is increasing among millennials.
In late January, IOM joined a small but growing list of UN agencies on TikTok. Weeks later, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic.
The rapid spread of COVID-19 created fear and mistrust. Migrants quickly became a target and were blamed by many for spreading the disease, resulting in xenophobia, stigma and discrimination. We needed to combat these falsehoods and set the narrative straight.
Thanks to a strategic partnership with TikTok’s Corporate Responsibility Team, our corporate account has become the second most followed UN agency, even though IOM joined the platform quite late. TikTok has also topped IOM social media ranking worldwide, forcing us to recognize its potential.
With its unique audience and AI-powered algorithm, TikTok was the perfect tool to fight misinformation during the largest crisis of our generation.
And as the world continues to battle COVID-19, we want to reflect on five lessons learned by our social media team.
- Focus on short, digestible messages
It is no secret that the human attention span has sharply decreased over the past decade. As TikTok grew in popularity in 2018, its content diversified to incorporate the new marketing tool. However, the videos that perform best are almost always short in length.
For humanitarians, hooking viewers’ attention on a serious social issue is particularly difficult. Tackling COVID-19 content, we decided to keep messaging simple and focus on audience retention.
After all, how can we combat misinformation if users scrolling through their feed watch only a few seconds of an unrelatable institutional video?
2. Social media is the primary news source for youth
While TikTok’s audience base has shifted to include millennials, it remains a youth-dominated platform.
Half of its audience is under 34 years old. Unlike older generations relying on traditional media, nearly half of the world’s youth turns to social media for news. Because social media is participatory, the potential spread of falsehoods, rumors and hate is amplified, making the fight against misinformation more critical than ever.
3. TikTok’s Innovative Algorithm
The key to mastering content creation is understanding TikTok’s innovative algorithm. When a video is posted, it goes through an initial push to viewers, where it undergoes a performance evaluation. If the video has a high completion ratio, it will be pushed again.
What does this mean for fighting COVID-19 misinformation?
Videos need to pack a punch right from the start, regardless of the topic. This comes down to concise, engaging messaging, staying up to date on challenges and utilizing viral music.
The algorithm will handle the rest.
4. Education should not compromise creativity
Contrary to common perceptions, TikTok videos don’t have to be funny. Especially for humanitarians. Bringing in an educational component, however, should not compromise creativity.
Luckily, TikTok does some of the brainstorming for us. Its “Discover” page features trending hashtags, challenges and music. Jumping on a challenge or emulating a trending video isn’t plagiarism; it creates highly relevant content while leaving room for critical messaging.
And although emulating trends is a risk-averse path, original content creation is, of course, always valuable.
5. User Engagement is Key
Replying to comments is critical for online community management. TikTok’s newest feature, a “video reply,” takes this one step further than a 280-character tweet, allowing creators to directly respond to comments with a video that gets added to the account feed. With COVID-19 rumors circulating in comment sections, this feature provides an opportunity to show the face behind the reply and dispel myths in a more interactive fashion.
For those of us fortunate enough to be home, we can open TikTok and scroll through a mix of funny, creative and even inspirational content. But amid online rumors and conspiracies about COVID-19, we can also use a reminder to trust facts, be kind, and stay informed.
The article was written by:
Olga Borzenkova. Senior Public Information Assistant, IOM Belarus
Rahma Soliman, Migration Officer for Media and Communications, IOM Office to the United Nations in New York
Justine Hu, Social Media Producer, IOM HQ
Luca Lamorte, Social Media Officer (Managing Editor), IOM HQ
