From dare to partnership.
Popular mobile video-sharing app TikTok has partnered with the Commission on Elections for voter registration campaigns and for providing credible information on the elections a year after a challenge was issued.
The initiative aims to provide Filipinos with “easy access to reliable election information” leading up to the national elections on May 2022.
It is also part of the app’s efforts in ensuring that users would stay informed and for maintaining authenticity on the platform especially during the elections season when “fake news” and disinformation would be rampant.
Comelec has launched its official account which will serve as a source for credible election-related information and advocate for voter participation leading up to Election Day through featured events, videos showing relevant election data and up-to-date voting results.
Voter registration for the national elections is open until September 30 this year.
“Venturing into emerging platforms and tapping into their vast network of users has been our long-standing advocacy, as it allows the Commission on Elections to broaden the reach of its voter education and information drive,” Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez said during the virtual launch of the partnership.
“Through this partnership with TikTok for the 2022 National and Local Elections, we forge a valuable cooperation that will buttress our goal of conducting clean, honest and credible elections,” he added.
Kristoffer Rada, TikTok’s head for public policy, said that the partnership “opens up new and innovative ways to share and consume accurate information about the coming elections for the Filipino public.”
“We are committed to providing credible, fact-based content to help Filipino voters make informed choices during the election period,” he said.
TikTok said that its community guidelines are designed to help make the platform a welcoming place for everyone and assured that it is a safe space for the election body to encourage Filipinos to exercise their rights to vote.
“These Community Guidelines fight misinformation by restricting users from posting inaccurate content on the platform, and empowering community members to report misleading content related to the elections,” it said on a release.
The platform’s partnership with Comelec comes a year after Jimenez challenged Filipino TikTok users to partner with them in crafting a voter registration campaign.
He issued the challenge after reading an international news report on Twitter that featured TikTok creators in the United States launching a voter registration campaign for their 2020 presidential elections. It was eventually won by US President Joe Biden.
Jimenez, who retweeted the news report, said in response before: “I can only hope Filipino Tokkers take the initiative to do something like this. Partner with @comelec. I’m sure we can work something out. Dare.”
RELATED: Filipino Tiktok influencers dared to team up with Comelec for voter registration campaign
TikTok is a popular app among young people, including Filipinos.
It enables users to share short-form mobile videos that can be customized with songs, filters and special effects as enhanced by artificial intelligence.