TikTok shuts down ‘covert influence networks’ targeting Philippines elections

TikTok said it had shut down three “covert influence networks” and removed more than one million fake or spam accounts targeting users in the Philippines

ahead of the country’s recent midterm election, amid growing concerns over the role of social media in distorting the country’s political discourse.

The three networks, operating locally, were detected and taken down in April – weeks before the May 12 midterm elections. Each involved dozens of accounts with thousands of followers, and appeared to be designed to exploit TikTok’s fast-growing reach among Filipino youth and influence online political debates ahead of polling day.

One of the networks had 124 accounts with more than 10,000 followers and was found to have repeatedly posted duplicative content. Another, with 36 accounts and nearly 19,000 followers, used fake identities to spread political messages. A third, comprising 29 accounts with just over 3,000 followers, used the Philippine flag for its user profile.

TikTok also said it removed over 4,000 pieces of content that violated its policies on civic and election integrity, misinformation and AI-generated images.