You now have a way to express your displeasure with hurtful (or simply meaningless) TikTok comments. TikTok has begun the global rollout of a comment ‘dislike’ button following a test this spring.
As with other social networks, you can express your displeasure with a thumbs-down button or undo your action if you change your mind.
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According to the company, the feature is another way to get feedback on “irrelevant or inappropriate” comments.
A comment with a high number of dislikes should alert TikTok to hate speech, spam, or trolling that it might otherwise miss. As a result, healthier comment sections may emerge.
🔔 New feature incoming. Earlier this year, we started to test a new way people could identify comments they believe to be irrelevant or inappropriate. After some testing, we’re releasing it globally. 📲 Read on for 3 fast facts
— TikTokComms (@TikTokComms) September 23, 2022
TikTok is aware of the possibility of abuse. The company, like YouTube, does not display dislike counts. A mob may have less incentive to downvote comments with which it disagrees.
TikTok has not stated whether it will take action against button abuse, but we have asked the company for clarification.
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This isn’t TikTok’s only moderation tool, and the combined resources could help the company get a handle on comment sections that all too often go downhill. Given TikTok’s difficulties enforcing its policies, it’s unclear how effective the dislike button will be.
TikTok, for example, continues to struggle with misinformation control. Dislikes may be beneficial, but they are not a cure-all.
