TikTok To Shut Accounts Spreading Misinformation On Coronavirus; Provocative Videos Originating From Pakistan & Middle East

The provocative videos, originating from Pakistan and middle-east, are being used to spread false information and influence the people against following safe practices to contain the spread of COVID-19.

New Delhi: Chinese video-sharing app TikTok has taken India by storm, gaining a significant following in the past few years. As the country remains under lockdown to combat Coronavirus, the app is being used to spread false information among the Muslim community. Several videos on TikTok are being posted to discourage the people from taking preventive measures like wearing masks and practicing social distancing, a report prepared by open-source intelligence and fact-checking IT firm Voyager Infosec said. One can find videos on TikTok which suggest that Muslims are immune to Coronavirus, thus posing a big problem to government’s efforts to control the spread of the deadly virus.  The provocative videos, that are going viral on social media, are originating from Pakistan and middle-east, the report said. The clips are getting circulated on social media platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter. The videos, shot in foreign locations and India, have been watched by several users in the past few days. TikTok is being used a medium to spread videos which instigate people against health advisories issued by the government. Hindi and light Urdu are being used as a language in order to propagate fake news among the Muslim community, the report added. The report, which was submitted to India Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, claims to have analysed more than 30,000 videos in the last five days. Most of the videos have been made with professional video editing softwares and the accounts, which originally uploaded them, are being deleted after circulating the clips to other social media apps, the report further added. Also READ| COVID- 19: Yogi Government To Distribute Over 66 Crore Free Masks To Poor TikTok has decided to shut those accounts which are being used to spread misinformation and fear regarding the Coronavirus outbreak. "We have been monitoring and systematically removing all content from our platform, including video, audio, and image that transgresses government advisories, as well as our own Community Guidelines. We are suspending or banning accounts, and, where necessary, are reporting the accounts to relevant legal authorities to ensure public safety," a TikTok spokesperson told PTI. Meanwhile, the number of Coronavirus positive cases in India has jumped to over 2900. Maharashtra and Kerala are the worst-hit states in the country.