TikTok labels fall flat

WASHINGTON — Social media platforms often rely on labels to let users know an account is operated by a Russian state propaganda agency. But new research shows on TikTok the labels aren’t very effective even when they’re applied consistently. Analysts at the Alliance for Securing Democracy identified nearly 100 accounts with clear links to Russian state media or propaganda agencies. The analysts found more than a third of the accounts were still unlabeled a year after TikTok announced its labeling program. Even when the labels were added to Russian state accounts, they did little to limit the reach of the propaganda. RT, one of Russia’s top state-controlled outlets, has more followers on TikTok than The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal, despite a label classifying RT as “Russia state-controlled media.