We investigated inauthentic TikTok accounts that support political parties in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Poland, Spain, Sweden.
Summary
In our last report submitted to TikTok on 3 May 2024, we highlighted political accounts with unclear affiliations. We called on TikTok to investigate this problem more deeply in Germany and France as well as the other 27 EU member states to address manifest risks to the integrity of European Parliament elections.
TikTok suspended five accounts we had highlighted but maintained the other accounts we found problematic. We are not convinced by the distinction the company makes between (illegitimate) impersonation and (legitimate) fan accounts, mainly based on one superficial data point: the logo being used.
It is also not our impression that the company verified any other accounts beyond those identified by us. We have found numerous such accounts of unclear affiliation in other EU member states. We share them in this paper. This does not suggest that TikTok responded to our recommendations, although polling for EP elections will start in two weeks.
We recommend the company carries out an urgent review of all such accounts pro-actively across the EU ahead of the EP elections, rather than waiting for third parties to find such problems.
Findings
We found the following accounts with vague self-descriptions, sometimes using the party logos, symbols or photos of lead candidates and unclear self-descriptions. Usually, they follow no other accounts or only very few other accounts. They seem to be designed to spread political party content.
Austria
- fpoe_fanpage 33K followers
- _fpoe_ 1K followers
Belgium
- vlaams.belang 19K followers
Germany
- Aliceweideltiktok 64K (we had not identified this account in the last report)
Italy
- patrioti_giorgiameloni 410K followers
- fratelli.ditaliafp 17K followers
- noiconfratelliditalia 15K followers
Poland
- mlodaliewicka 30K followers
- polskasuwerenna 19K followers
- konfederacja2024 12K followers
- konfederacjafp 9K followers
- Konfederacja.fanpage 7K followers
- There are many more unclear accounts for or by the Konfederajca party with followerships of 1-2 K. These should also be reviewed.
- zwolennicypis 4K followers
- prawo.i.sprawiedliwosc 2K followers
- Pis.fp 2K followers
- There are several smaller accounts with unclear affiliations using the logo of the PiS party.
- platforma.fanpage 2K followers
- There are a few smaller accounts with unclear affiliations using the logo of the Platforma Obywatelska party.
Portugal
- Chega.por.portuga 10K followers
- Vota.chega 11K followers
- andreventurachegaa 1K followers
Spain
- Voxpespana 28K followers
- Vox.espana.es 5K followers (a second party account)
- Vivapsoe 2K followers
Sweden
- sverjedemokraterna 38K followers
Evaluation
We have highlighted in our previous report how we consider the presence of such types of accounts to be inconsistent with TikTok’s community standards, with the Code of Practice against Disinformation and with the Digital Services Act.
While TikTok suspended a few accounts based on our last report, the current practice appears to be problematic. Numerous accounts with unclear affiliation, no transparency and serious doubts about their authenticity are allowed to play important roles in distributing political content to millions of viewers during an election campaign and beyond. It is our impression that TikTok’s practices in this area are laxer than those of other VLOPs.
We are also concerned by the fact that TikTok does not seem to have taken proactive steps to identify and review such accounts after our last review. The accounts we identified above are easy to find.
Recommendations
- TikTok should apply its community standards, commitments against disinformation and legal obligations to political accounts with an unclear affiliation (as listed above).
- Our findings are based on a spot-check, rather than a comprehensive analysis of all such accounts. TikTok should research this issue systematically and urgently in all EU member states. The urgency results from the fact that voting for EP elections starts in two weeks.
- TikTok should review its practice and interpretation of its community standards to address “foreseeable negative effects on civic discourse and electoral processes” (Article 34 DSA).
This project was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Culture of Solidarity Fund powered by the European Cultural Foundation in collaboration with Allianz Foundation and the Evens Foundation.
