TikTok fails a test of its ban on political ads

Less than three weeks before the presidential election, TikTok is still struggling to consistently enforce its long-standing ban on political advertising, a new report finds.

In September, researchers from the nonprofit Global Witness tested the political ad moderation systems of three leading social media platforms — TikTok, Facebook and YouTube — by submitting ads that contained election disinformation. Examples included ads falsely warning that citizens must pass an English language test to vote; claiming that Donald Trump is ineligible to run for president due to his felony convictions; and calling for a repeat of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.