Tik Tok is expanding AI education, while strengthening safeguards against AI-generated spam and misleading content. (Image created using ChatGPT) TikTok is expanding its artificial intelligence (AI) literacy and transparency initiatives across Sub-Saharan Africa. This, as social media platforms face increasing scrutiny over the impact of AI-generated content and the growing need to help users distinguish…
As part of the AI for Good Global Summit hosted in Geneva, TikTok has announced a series of initiatives globally designed to strengthen AI literacy, improve transparency around AI-generated content, and enhance protection against AI-generated spam, reinforcing its commitment to helping people across the region use AI safely, confidently and responsibly. As artificial intelligence rapidly…
Companies are taking a more cautious approach to future social media spending. South African businesses are expanding their social media strategies as TikTok and LinkedIn attract growing user engagement, while Facebook’s long-standing dominance continues to erode. This is one of the key findings of the South African Social Media Landscape Report 2026, released last week….
No, TikTok not giving away free data to commemorate anniversary A message spread on Facebook and WhatsApp, where it was forwarded to Africa Check for verification, claims that social media company TikTok is offering users free mobile data bundles as part of a promotional event. A typical post begins: “Congratulations to all TikTokers, Free 30GB…
TikTok SA took action against AI-generated and misleading content, removing thousands of videos. (Image created using ChatGPT) TikTok removed more than 1.1 million videos in South Africa during the fourth quarter of 2025 for violating its Community Guidelines, while also interrupting more than 188 000 live streaming rooms that breached its platform rules. The figures…
Icasa wants you to know it has tightened up the rules for South Africa’s pivotal municipal elections, set for 4 November 2026. The communications regulator recently published the Municipal Party Elections Broadcasts and Political Advertisements Amendment Regulations 2026. Unfortunately, the regulations are irrelevant to the only fight that matters. That’s because the regulations apply to…
The Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, in central France, is the largest of its kind in the world, with more than 500 films screened during a week-long event. Its African Perspectives section this year tackles themes from social media to colonial archives. Tim Redford, in charge of the festival’s international competition and the African Perspectives…
Meta Platforms, TikTok and YouTube will face courtroom scrutiny this week over allegations that their platforms are fuelling a youth mental health crisis, as a debate about kids’ screen time enters a new phase. The trial in California is a test case for thousands of other lawsuits seeking damages for social media harms, in a…
TikTok users have been deleting the app at a higher rate since the company announced that its U.S. operations would be housed in a new joint venture. The short-form video platform’s daily average app uninstalls in the U.S. have increased nearly 150% over the past five days compared with the previous three months, market intelligence…
Image: Reuters TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, has finalised a deal to establish a majority American-owned joint venture that will secure US data, to avoid a US ban on the short video app used by over 200 million Americans. The deal is a milestone for the social media firm after years of battles that began in…
