The restrictions on its platforms across the European Union on these Russian state media outlets follow requests from governments and the EU to prevent the spread of Russian disinformation
The EU’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, says that tools are being developed to ban Russia’s toxic and harmful disinformation in Europe.
“The state-owned Russia Today and Sputnik, as well as their subsidiaries will no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war and to saw division in our Union,”
he says.
The ban has reached TikTok and may extend to online platforms including YouTube to prevent Russian propaganda from reaching western audiences.
This comes as TikTok, traditionally a platform for dancing videos but now used to help young people understand politics, particularly surrounding the war in Russia and Ukraine.
As shown above, this is civilian footage revealing some of the first troop and equipment deployments in western Russia.
No one else could get this close, TikTok is really providing an unprecedented view of military preparations in real-time.
However, several witness videos on TikTok of Russia’s troop build-up are yet to be confirmed.
Is TikTok a reliable source for understanding politics?
Russian defence policy expert, Rob Lee, said on Twitter that a lot of the Russian military videos are yet to be fact-checked.
“Most of the changes in Russian military posture near Ukraine have been observed publicly on social media before it has been confirmed by US government officials,”
he says.
Social media researcher, Dr Karen Sutherland, says that any content on TikTok still needs to be fact-checked to see if it is accurate before assuming that it’s credible as videos are coming from citizen journalists rather than trained journalists.
“TikTok has provided a platform for younger creators to explain current world events in their own words and in ways that are more accessible and digestible than the traditional news media,”
she says.
Below is a video of TikTok user @iamlegallyhype explaining the tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
What are the advantages of TikTok being used to educate younger audiences?
Dr Sutherland says the platform may increase interest and awareness of important world issues.
“The way news is being communicated on TikTok is very innovative and is reaching millions of people as a result,”
she says.
So as tensions build on Ukraine’s border, the footage being posted online will be a valuable new tool for further Russian military movements.
A more digestible and entertaining way to inform young people
Young people are turning to Tiktok for Australian political content as well.
According to 21-year-old Lachlan from Brisbane, who is behind the large anti-Liberal Party TikTok account ‘Gen Z for Albo,’ young people are don’t really have a reliable source of political information that’s easy to process.
“Some people genuinely don’t know a thing about politics, but because we presented something in a way that they could understand… they’re getting the point that we’re trying to make and then they’re able to explain that to their friends and their circle,”
