Assessing the credibility of TikTok content: How factors relevant to online credibility evaluation apply in the context of TikTok

Abstract

Being a new environment for spreading and receiving information, the social media platform TikTok has caused concern about how users are able to navigate through its contents. This study aims to provide insight on how users’ processes can be researched through the lens of credibility, and how previous research on credibility may benefit these developments. This study will focus on whether previous findings in online credibility research are relevant to credibility assessment in TikTok. TikTok users participated in an online survey, in which they viewed four TikTok videos by different creators, responded to questions about how credible they found each video to be, and how relevant different factors were to these assessments. Participants were also asked about whether they found the creator behind the video competent in discussing the topic. These factors were drawn from the findings of previous research on online credibility. The findings of this study suggest that studies on TikTok credibility can benefit from previous online credibility research, by utilizing features that have been found to be relevant in credibility assessment in other environments. This type of investigation is beneficial for future research, as it provides an implication for how such research could be approached.