TikTok will allow its user community to provide context for sensational posts.

      TikTok, similar to other social media platforms, encounters harmful information and controversial content. The company has implemented a fact-checking system to address misinformation related to fake news, medical topics, and elections. Now, it aims to leverage its community to provide useful context for content that may be misleading or sensationalized.

      To facilitate this, TikTok announced Footnotes, a system that allows approved community members to add relevant information to posts for viewers. X already uses a similar system called Community Notes, which Meta platforms like Instagram and Facebook also adopted in 2025.

      The fundamental concept is the same. “Footnotes will harness the collective knowledge of the TikTok community by enabling users to contribute pertinent information to content on our platform,” the company stated in a press release.

      How will Footnotes function on TikTok?

      TikTok will start testing Footnotes in the United States and will begin accepting contributions in the “coming months.” Anyone can apply to be a contributor, provided they meet the following requirements:

      - **Location:** Users must reside in the United States.

      - **Age:** Applicants must be 18 years or older.

      - **Usage:** Contributors should have had an active TikTok account for more than six months.

      - **Contact:** A valid email address or local phone number is required.

      - **Discipline:** The applicant must have had no TikTok policy violations in the last six months.

      All footnotes will be written, reviewed, and rated by approved contributors, and TikTok will utilize a ranking system to display the final version. For instance, if a post generates a discussion needing context, a voting system will be implemented, and only the footnotes with the highest community approval will be added to the post.

      These footnotes will be visible to all TikTok users. Nonetheless, posts with footnotes will not face disciplinary action and will remain eligible for the Creator Rewards Program.

      TikTok's potential for success appears greater.

      Unlike Meta, which has discontinued its fact-checking program in the U.S., TikTok is employing footnotes as an additional support. Community Notes are essential because they provide helpful context, which is not necessarily the main function of fact-checkers.

      “We also continue to collaborate with over 20 IFCN-accredited fact-checking organizations to evaluate the accuracy of content on TikTok in more than 60 languages and 130 markets globally,” TikTok stated.

      Certified fact-checkers are already inundated with the task of identifying and removing harmful information from social media. However, a substantial amount of content online lacks sufficient context, often leading to misleading or one-sided presentations of specific events or individuals.

      Community notes, or footnotes, are not a definitive solution to making social media a safer, more accurate space. Research indicates that they often fail to curtail the spread of harmful content for various reasons.

      “It requires a ‘cross-ideological agreement on truth,’ and in an increasingly partisan environment, achieving that consensus is nearly impossible,” stated the Poynter Institute, which operates the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN).

      Fortunately, TikTok is not depending solely on community notes. As mentioned earlier, the company will maintain its partnerships with fact-checkers around the world to manage problematic posts, which often face disciplinary actions like decreased visibility or removal.

      “The experts can still promptly debunk the most harmful and viral misinformation, while Footnotes contributors can add context to videos that don’t meet that threshold,” argues Poynter. It will be interesting to observe if this experimental feature can provide benefits to its audience in the U.S., especially as the threat of a nationwide ban still looms.