Mathieu Nadeau-Vallée, alias the “doctor TikTok”, doctor forced to abandon the platform where he was very popular, does he establish a good diagnosis by fearing that the eviction of professionals leaves too much latitude for untruths? Obviously, he is not the only one to fear that misinformation is gaining importance.
The doctor, who published capsules on health topics to 87,000 subscribers, was instructed to uninstall the Chinese social network application from his personal phone, like many civil servants, teachers and health professionals in Quebec. The reason: the government fears that confidential data will be secretly collected on the devices where it has been installed. But for the “doctor TikTok”, these sidelines would leave “the field open to misinformation1 “.
Is the existence of false content on the social network such an important reality? For digital communications strategist and tech columnist Nellie Brière, the worst rubs shoulders with the best, all powered by hard-to-find algorithms.
Of course, there is misinformation there, there are a lot of conspirators on TikTok, as well as scientists who come to counter their speeches.
Nellie Brière, digital communications strategist
From his point of view, the professionals and credible figures of the social network are right to worry about this disconnection. “If those with skills, whether civil servants, teachers, scientists or news media, leave the machine, the conspirators and all opinions, even those not based on fact, will remain. It leaves the field open to the unhealthy influence of all kinds of groups or interests, including political or commercial,” warns Ms.me Brière, for whom the argument of national security has too little weight.
“Telling those who don’t have a national secret on their phone not to be on it is not really justified. The fear raised is that data collection is used to target and influence the user, but this collection has already been done, it is too late! TikTok and the other networks already have this topo, ”she says.
A matter of space
Many areas are affected by the government’s watchword and, even if its activities are not directly targeted, lawyer Chanel Alepin questions its validity. The young woman, who runs the TikTok account of the Alepin Gauthier firm where general legal information is distilled, with a hint of humor to demystify her profession, reacted Thursday on the platform to the departure of “Doctor TikTok”.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY ALEPIN GAUTHIER
Chanel Alepin, lawyer
She realizes that many subscribers to her account do not always have the right information about the law in Quebec. “It made me think when I saw this doctor being forced to stop. I thought to myself, “What would make it wrong for a professional to use Tik-Tok?” I’m not a computer expert, but I wonder: if all this is done on a personal phone, on personal time, with personal opinions, is the fear justified? “Explains the lawyer, in an interview with La Presse. She fears that the sticks in the wheels of professionals (including ethical reproaches formulated by certain employers) will divert them from TikTok, when “they have their place there”.
Another Quebec doctor, Michelle Houde, who feeds the La MD colored account, said she was ready to continue producing videos.
“I will do everything not to stop creating health content and videos on TikTok”, she launched in a video published on Wednesday, while specifying that it would be done “in compliance with the law” – she indicates that she has not yet received instructions. The DD Houde uses the platform to deal with health topics that are sometimes taboo, such as sexual or mental health, which allows him to address a large audience not necessarily connected to traditional media.
“If there are no qualified people who bring reliable information to these platforms, other people will take their place. The majority of doctors I know who are on the platform arrived precisely to counter misinformation. If we all leave at the same time, I’m afraid of what it could give, ”she pleads.
A phone assigned to TikTok
Can compromise solutions be found to manage data security and speech security? Nellie Brière recommends, to use the application, to use a telephone where no confidential information would be present, and to refrain from doing so with any professional telephone provided by an employer. The DD Michelle Houde evokes the possibility of investing in a phone only intended for TikTok. “It’s so important to me,” she says.