TikTok launches Philippine Elections Center, outlines policies on election integrity

MANILA, Philippines – TikTok Philippines announced on Tuesday, January 28 that it launched its in-app Philippine Elections Center, aimed to provide reliable information related to the upcoming 2025 midterm election in the country.

The Philippine Elections Center is the product of TikTok’s partnership with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) as well as poll watchdogs the National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) and the Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE). Ahead of the 2022 elections, TikTok launched a similar partnership with Comelec and GMA News.

The platform’s Philippine Elections Center can be accessed by actively searching “elections” or clicking on election hashtags via the TikTok app or website. Up top, a banner with the words “Election Awareness” will direct users to election-related information from Comelec, Namfrel, and LENTE. This includes important dates and tips on how to spot false information on the platform.

PHILIPPINE ELECTIONS CENTER. TikTok users can access the Philippine Elections Center by searching “elections” or clicking election hashtags on the platform or website. Rappler screenshot

TikTok and Comelec also signed a memorandum of understanding in a press briefing on Tuesday. Comelec Chairman George Garcia said the partnership was a “significant step toward ensuring that voters have access to accurate and timely information,” especially as more young voters are getting information from online sources. In 2024, nearly 8 in 10 Filipinos aged 16 to 64 listed “finding information” as a primary reason for using the internet.

SIGNING. Comelec Chairman George Garcia and TikTok Philippine Public Policy Manager Peachy Paderna with the signed memorandum of understanding for their partnership for the 2025 midterm elections. Gaby Baizas/Rappler

TikTok also launched their #ThinkTwice campaign for digital literacy, aimed to make the platform a safer space “where truth, respect, and kindness prevail.” This campaign cites TikTok’s policies and Community Guidelines related to integrity, authenticity, and safety and civility.

Efforts to curb harmful content, political advertising

TikTok’s efforts to protect election integrity on the platform include prohibiting misleading content — regardless of intent — about civic and electoral processes, as well as violent organizations and individuals and hateful content. TikTok’s Community Guidelines also ban harmful content “that may result in voter interference, disrupt the peaceful transfer of power, or lead to off-platform violence.”

In terms of addressing mis- and disinformation on the platform, TikTok said it partners with a total of 21 fact-checking organizations around the globe to assess the accuracy of content posted on the platform. This also entails labeling claims that cannot be verified. All 21 organizations are certified by the International Fact-Checking Network, but none of these are based in the Philippines.

The platform’s Community Guidelines also require creators to label realistic AI-generated content. Content that contains unlabeled AI-generated content may be removed.

TikTok has also long prohibited politicians, government officials, and political parties from making money on the platform, through advertising or monetization features. The tech company’s Community Guidelines also prohibit creators from making branded political content.

However, studies found that accounts not explicitly affiliated with government or partisan communities, institutions, or officials have engaged in covert political campaigning for previous elections. Such accounts operated on a variety of social media platforms, including TikTok.

Tracking politicians’ ad spending and analyzing candidates’ statements of contribution and expenditures (SOCEs) also do not provide the full picture of their social media campaigning efforts.

For instance, a Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism report from 2022 found that then-vice president Leni Robredo spent the most money among presidential candidates on Facebook advertisements. The same report found that incumbent President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. did not track any ad spending on the platform at the time, but was benefitting from a years-long disinformation campaign — which ultimately helped him win the presidency.

As of 2024, there are over 49 million TikTok users in the Philippines aged 18 and above. – Rappler.com