Video-sharing platform TikTok has launched a new feed dedicated to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) content for users in Ireland, the UK and across Europe.
Users will be able to click on the STEM feed, alongside the ‘For You’ feed, to access STEM-related videos.
It will feature English-speaking content with auto-translate subtitles, which TikTok said will be fact-checked by two independent organisations.
Common Sense Networks will assess content to ensure it is appropriate for the STEM feed, and the Poynter Institute will assess the reliability of the information presented.
People under the age of 18 will have the STEM feed turned on by default, but can adjust their content settings if they choose.
“We believe discovery is essential to the TikTok experience, and we’re always looking to help our community uncover new and relevant content through introducing new and exciting formats,” said Marlène Masure General Manager for Operations, TikTok EMEA.
A similar STEM feed launch by TikTok in the US saw STEM content grow by 24% globally, with a third of teens visiting the feed on a weekly basis.
TikTok’s operations in the US were dealt a major blow last month when the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill that would give the platform’s Chinese owner ByteDance about six months to divest the American assets of the app, or face a ban.
US lawmakers have cited national security concerns but TikTok has insisted that it never has or never would share user data with China.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry described the passing of the bill as unfair and said it put the US on the opposite side of the principles of fair competition and international trade rules.
