TikTok is adding a new feature that allows users to rate video creators and trend starters.
By allowing users to tag, mention and credit videos in posts, it will encourage people to trust their source of inspiration.
Currently, when TikTok users want to add another video, they can only acknowledge the creator in the caption or comment. The new feature will allow them to credit specific videos.
Kudzi Chikumbu, director of TikTok’s creator community, said in a blog post:
“These features are an important step in our continued commitment to investing in resources and product experiences that support a culture of credit, which is critical to ensuring TikTok remains a home for creative expression,”
After publishing or editing a video, users will be able to access the feature through the video page.
On the videos page, they can choose to tag videos they like, favorite, post, or use the same sound.
Additionally, TikTok will add user prompts, such as pop-ups, explaining the importance of credit and encouraging users to cite the original creator.
Feature emerges nearly a year after backlash from black creators
For some time now, TikTok has faced accusations from users that their original content has been hijacked without proper credit.
Last April, one of the social media site’s most-followed figures, Jimmy Fallon and Addison Rae, performed a series of dances popular on the site on “The Tonight Show.” Afterwards, it drew the ire of black users without acknowledging the creator. In response, Fallon apologized and invited five TikTok creators to perform their dances on the show.
However, that hasn’t diminished claims of white content creators stealing dances and memes from black creators, and last June, many Black content creators boycott The platform uses the hashtag “BlackTikTokStrike”. The hashtag is used on several social media platforms and has garnered millions of views.
“It’s important to develop a culture of credit in the digital environment and support underrepresented creators to be properly honored and celebrated for their work,” Chikumbu said in the post.
source: TikTok Newsroom
Featured image: Screenshot from newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/crediting-tools, May 2022.
