TikTok approved election disinformation ads in Irish-language test
Global Witness tested TikTok's ad moderation by submitting 28 disinformation ads about Ireland's general election and found the platform approved 11 of them—eight in Irish and three in English. The campaign group reported that TikTok lacks dedicated Irish-language moderators, creating a significant gap in content moderation.
What happened
Campaign group Global Witness submitted 28 test ads to TikTok—14 in English and 14 in Irish—containing clear disinformation about Ireland's general election. The false claims included that voters need proof of two Covid vaccinations to vote, can vote by post after polls close, and can cast votes on Facebook.
TikTok approved 11 of the 28 ads: three English-language ads and eight Irish-language ads. Global Witness deleted all submitted ads before publication so none reached users.
Reported impact
Global Witness stated that TikTok's moderation system has a 'blind spot' with Irish-language content. According to TikTok's EU Digital Services Act transparency report, the platform has no dedicated Irish-language moderators.
Index analysis
The substantially higher approval rate for Irish-language ads (57% approved) compared to English-language ads (21% approved) indicates a language-specific gap in content moderation capability.
Governance controls
TikTok told Global Witness it conducted an investigation into why some ads were not rejected at the first stage and stated all submitted ads violated its advertising policies. The company highlighted that ads may undergo additional review stages based on impression thresholds or user reports once live.
TikTok said it 'does not allow political advertising on TikTok' and launched a dedicated in-app election centre to provide users with authoritative election information.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.