As part of its commitment to supporting educational content on its app, Video-sharing platform, TikTok, has announced plans to develop a new science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) stream.
Marlène Masure, General Manager for Operations, TikTok EMEA while confirming the development claimed that it hoped it would “inspire” young people to “project themselves into different careers”.
Users of the social media site in the UK and Ireland will be able to see the feed, which only contains videos that explore Stem-related topics, along with the For You page, starting on Tuesday.
Nearly 15 million films about stem have been posted on TikTok in the last three years, and some of the makers have amassed sizable fan bases from people looking to learn more or pursue jobs in the field.
The STEM stream will be enabled by default for users under the age of 18, while they are free to change the content settings if they so want.
“We think discovery is essential to the TikTok experience, and we’re always looking to help our community uncover new and relevant content through the introduction of new and exciting formats,” Masure stated.
When TikTok launched a similar STEM stream in the US, STEM content increased by 24% globally, and one-third of teenagers visited the feed every week.
News.ng understands that the feed would also have content in the English language with automatically translated subtitles, which will undergo fact-checking by two separate agencies.
The business is working with Poynter and Common Sense Networks to evaluate all of the content that appears on the STEM feed. Poynter will evaluate the information’s credibility, while Common Sense Networks will check the content to make sure it belongs in the STEM feed.
Content will not be allowed in the STEM feed if it fails either of these two checks.
We earlier reported that as part of a larger initiative to strengthen safety features for the app’s younger users, TikTok said last summer that it wanted to establish a “youth council” of teenagers to provide advice to the firm.
