In collaboration with Weber Shandwick, KRC conducted innovative, multi-modal research on how TikTok users process news and political information. The report combines insights from ethnographic diaries and screen recordings from 30 TikTok users kept over a five-day period, interviews with a dozen TikTok creators, and a broader survey of over 350 regular TikTok users. Key findings include:

  • Most TikTok users surveyed expected and accepted mis- and disinformation on the platform. Several in the panel implied that the presence of false or misleading information is less of a problem and more of a benefit; it signals that TikTok is connecting them to the “real” world.
  • While many acknowledged there is misleading information on TikTok, most expressed confidence in their ability to discern fact from fiction. Users say they employ techniques such as reading comments or using TikTok search to investigate claims.
  • 77% of users KRC surveyed said TikTok is where they first learn about news on political or social subjects, at least some of the time. “I hear stuff in TikTok, and then two weeks later the giant news outlets finally cover it,” remarked one 22-year-old, female panelist who identifies as a political independent. 
  • Many said news on TikTok “feels real” and credible because it gives them an “unfiltered” connection to others like them. The news our panelists saw was frequently a raw, self-produced, first-person video from a source appearing to be a peer user or independent creator – not a professional news organization like The New York Times, NBC or FOX News.
  • The “For You” algorithm means that TikTokers consume information that bolsters their pre-existing points of view. Both Democrats and Republicans in our panel said TikTok almost exclusively shows them political and social issues content that reinforces their ideology. Creators also say they feel more comfortable being their “true selves” on TikTok than on other platforms because the algorithm better connects them with like-minded audiences.

For more on the research, view online here.