TikTok And Democracy: The Importance Of Fact-Checking Information

Posted by Forbes on February 10, 2026

Students often receive a lot of their information and news from social media platforms like TikTok, so how can young voters protect themselves against misinformation? Haylee Seiwell, student at William & Mary and former ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge intern, has a few ideas.

Have you ever caught yourself saying things like: “Hey, did you see this on TikTok”; “Well, I heard that on TikTok”; or “Someone on TikTok said this.”

Well, I have, and these phrases and phrases like them are some that I and everyone around me have heard countless times in regards to all sorts of topics (i.e., trends, recipes, theories, and politics) and in a variety of spaces, like when chatting with friends, in restaurants, when shopping, and yes, even in the classroom. I even catch myself saying these on almost a daily basis. In fact, most people rely on social media to receive their news and information. In particular, since TikTok took over culturally, it is where people, especially my generation (Gen Z), receive their information.

In the height of the 2024 presidential election, I heard the previously stated phrases all the time. These phrases reflect the growing influence of social media and portray how TikTok is simultaneously a helpful resource and a hotbed of both facts and misinformation. I have watched videos that I believed to be true, only to later find out the content is false. I’ve seen numerous videos spreading misinformation or promoting “toxic politics” and believed them. I have believed TikTok posts so much that I’ve discussed them with my friends who had also seen the same videos, just for us to research the content and come to the realization, through other sources, that the video contained false information. The phenomenon of misinformation around voting and politics affects people of all ages, and most of us don’t realize we have been affected.

Read more.