Douyin Imposes Hot Content Verification Mechanism to Curb False Staging and Unverified Claims

TapTechNews May 27th news, today the Douyin Security Center released an announcement. In order to maintain a good community ecosystem and implement the special work requirements of 'Cleaning up and Rectifying 'Self-Media' with Unlimited Pursuit of Traffic', and effectively crack down on illegal behaviors such as 'using all means to chase and炒作 social hotspots' and'self-directed and staged fakery', Douyin will implement a hot content verification mechanism starting from today, which is specifically divided into two items: verification of hot event parties and verification of suspected staged content.

1. Verification of hot event parties

In some hot events, some parties and parties involved choose to speak publicly on the Douyin platform. To ensure the authenticity of the parties' identities and the released content, and to prevent staged fakery, imitation and heat-chasing, piecing and splicing, rumors and other transmissions, the platform has made the following regulations for the voices of 'hot event parties':

1. After a hot event occurs, accounts that appear as or claim to be relatives and friends of the hot event parties and release content, the platform will verify after discovery. For users who receive a system message prompt, they need to confirm their identities within 5 hours after receiving the message. The platform side will contact the parties to verify their identities; if they cannot provide proof materials within the time limit, the platform will give a strong reminder label to the video. If they still haven't confirmed their identities after more than 24 hours, the platform will carry out graded penalties including account suspension until reliable proof materials are received.

2. For hot events with high social attention, the platform may require the parties to submit identity authentication/material authentication as soon as possible to continue speaking. At the same time, for some users with certain inconveniences such as advanced age and illness, the platform will酌情 relax the authentication time.

The platform welcomes the extensive participation of netizens in supervision. If you find suspected accounts imitating and heat-chasing the parties, you can privately message and feedback to Douyin@hot event parties, and the platform will verify and authenticate.

2. Verification of suspected staged content

When creators create and release fictional content through drama staging, they need to clearly mark the relevant videos as staged at a significant position or in a significant form, and the copy includes but is not limited to 'fictional staging, for entertainment only', etc. The platform provides a self-labeling tool for staged content: users with more than 10,000 fans can choose the appropriate declaration content through the 'Posting Assistant Self-Declaration' entrance, and users with less than 10,000 fans can choose the appropriate declaration content through the 'Advanced Settings->Posting Assistant Self-Declaration' entrance. See the 'Manual for Adding 'Fictional Staging' Self-Declaration' for details.

The platform will verify the suspected staged content:

1. For content that is suspected to be staged but not labeled, the platform will send a reminder. If it is staged content, please add the declaration truthfully according to the guidance. If the content is still not labeled after the platform reminder, the platform will take measures such as content removal, account penalty, and forced labeling until the user provides reliable proof materials.

2. For some suspected staged hot content, the platform will request relevant local departments to verify or link with local news agencies to investigate. If it is verified to be fake, the platform will severely deal with the account.

The platform reaffirms that the normal declared and labeled staged works will not be affected in the distribution of traffic, and for accounts that cause misunderstandings to the public and the media due to not labeli ng, the platform will give penalties such as a 30-day total silence to indefinite suspension according to the circumstances. Users can click the video forwarding button if they find suspected staged content, choose 'False Information' in the 'Report' to report, or report through @Douyin辟谣 official account, feedback@douyin.com mailbox.

3. Public cases of platform verification

Case one: A certain plastic surgeon, Dr. Tao (account 'Lao Tao Telling the Truth', with 1.484 million fans; account 'I'm the Bravest', with 174,000 fans), recently released videos of the operating room scene on multiple platforms, claiming that a patient had a cerebral blood vessel burst after drinking, singing, and soaking in the bath with friends, and was still in critical condition after rescue.

This video has attracted extensive attention from netizens. The special team of 'Unlimited Pursuit of Traffic' governance of Douyin judged and found that Dr. Tao had revealed in past videos that he was a doctor at a certain plastic surgery institution in Anhui. It is unlikely that he would participate in such first aid according to common sense, and this video is highly suspected to be falsely staged. Subsequently, the platform requested verification from relevant departments in Anhui Province.

After investigation by the local health and information departments, the person in charge of the plastic surgery institution where Dr. Tao practices admitted that Dr. Tao said this video was 'elf-directed and staged at home'. Dr. Tao's false staging and failure to indicate 'taged' behavior violated the content creation rules of 'taged' works on Douyin, and the platform decided to indefinitely suspend his accounts 'Lao Tao Telling the Truth' and 'I'm the Bravest'.

Case two: The user 'Xiao Shuang (Daily Life)' (with 51,000 fans) released multiple contents on the platform, claiming that 'I was bullied and suppressed by my mother-in-law in daily life and was forced to divorce and became depressed'. The platform verified with relevant departments in the account's territorial jurisdiction and confirmed that this user was falsely staged and did not indicate 'taged'. This behavior violated the content creation rules of 'taged' works on Douyin, and the platform decided to indefinitely suspend it.

TapTechNews noticed that Douyin has released the 'Manual for Adding 'Fictional Staging' Self-Declaration'. If the work fails to indicate that it is'staged' or 'fictional' externally, resulting in misunderstandings by the public and the news media and becoming 'false information', the platform will deal with it strictly. Including but not limited to canceling the submission right, canceling the profit right, erasing the account fans, and suspending the account, etc. At the same time, the platform has established a content verification mechanism. For hot content with doubts, it will request relevant local departments to verify or link with local news agencies to investigate.