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TikTok is getting into science.
The short-form video platform, which is highly popular with young people and currently facing increased Congressional scrutiny, announced on Tuesday it would create a dedicated field for science- and math-related topics.
The company is calling it “the STEM feed” in a press release and said U.S. users would begin to see the new field later in March.
It is “a new viewing experience that will give our community a dedicated space to explore a wide range of inspiring, entertaining, and enriching videos related to science, technology, engineering, and math,” the company wrote.
This comes after users began to see dedicated tabs for other topics on their TikTok apps, according to TechCrunch. Those included “fashion” and “food.” The app has also been testing other topic feeds like gaming and sports in select markets, the release said.
TikTok currently only has two feed options at the top: “Following,” and the all-powerful “For You” page, which can launch creators as well as send them into knots trying to figure out how to crack the app’s algorithm. The “FYP” is specific to each user who uses the platform. Now, the platform is leaning into educational content with the move.
TikTok said it’s leaning into relationships with Common Sense Network, an organization that promotes child safety in media, and Poynter, a journalism advocacy and education nonprofit to fact-check the new science feed.
Common Sense will “assess all content to ensure it’s appropriate for the STEM feed,” and Poynter “will assess the reliability of the information presented,” the company wrote.
“If content does not pass both checkpoints, it will not be eligible for the STEM feed,” the company added.
But the app has been under increased attention from the federal government of late.
Lawmakers put forth a bipartisan effort to make it easier for the president to ban or restrict certain technologies or companies if they present a security issue, per The Verge, which would make it less difficult to ban TikTok.
FBI Director Christopher Wray has also repeatedly discussed issues with the platform, including data security.
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