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posted by janrinok on Wednesday March 15 2023, @02:54PM   Printer-friendly

The STEM feed comes as TikTok faces increasing scrutiny:

TikTok has a large science community, and the social network wants everyone to know it on Pi Day (March 14). The company is launching a dedicated STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) feed that shows only these more educational videos. You may learn to code or discuss experiments without having to wade through TikTok's usual entertainment-focused content.

Not surprisingly, TikTok is taking steps to block misinformation in this new section. Curator Common Sense Networks will study content to make sure it's relevant to the STEM feed, while the fact-checkers at Poynter will gauge the accuracy. Any videos that don't pass both inspections won't reach the new feed.

Users in the US will start seeing the STEM feed in the "coming weeks," TikTok says. The social media giant has already been experimenting with a "Topic Feed" in some regions to court fans of gaming, sports and other common subjects. The science-oriented feed is considered an expansion of this initiative.

[...] Whether or not this helps with TikTok's survival in the US is another matter. Some politicians want to ban TikTok outright over fears it's a national security threat. Officials are concerned China may collect data about key Americans or spread propaganda.

See also: TikTok is Adding a Dedicated Feed for STEM Content


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  • (Score: 2) by canopic jug on Thursday March 16 2023, @05:55AM (1 child)

    by canopic jug (3949) Subscriber Badge on Thursday March 16 2023, @05:55AM (#1296422) Journal

    Well, seeing as TikTok gets 90% of kids' attention on a bad day...

    And next, the kids will be harming themselves physically and vandalizing their schools for "likes". Oh, wait, that's been the case with ByteDance's non-Chinese edition of Tiktok since day one. It's as serious as that. All the wrong people are failing to notice and take action, while at the same time all the other wrong people actually are both noticing and taking action.

    Oh and in unrelated news, United Arab Emirates spymaster, royal Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has used G42 to buy a very substantial portion of ByteDance.

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  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 16 2023, @05:57AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 16 2023, @05:57AM (#1296423)

    "UAE spy chief’s firm buys into ByteDance at $220-billion value"

    https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/uae-spy-chiefs-firm-buys-into-bytedance-at-220-billion-value/articleshow/98647457.cms [indiatimes.com]

    It's not like US-based news are going to cover that. They're too busy publishing puff pieces promoting TIktok.