Hindi maitatangging isa sa mga sikat at gamiting social media platform ngayon ang 'TikTok', na mas kilala sa China bilang Douyin, at laganap na ginagamit sa iba pang bansa sa mundo. Ito ay is a video-sharing focused social networking service na pagmamay-ari ng isang Chinese company na ByteDance. Sinumang may account dito ay maaaring magbahagi at manood ng mga short-form user videos, na maaaring sayaw, video clips, comedic act, o lecture, na may habang 15 segundo hanggang 3 minuto lamang.

Ang ibang mga netizens, tila ginagawang lunsaran, sanggunian, o 'source' ang TikTok sa pananaliksik ng mga impormasyon, lalo na sa kasaysayan. Minsan, mas pinaniniwalaan pa ang mga impormasyon at detalyeng napapanood dito at hindi na nagsasagawa pa ng beripikasyon o 'fact-checking', kung tama ba o accurate ito.

Dahil dito, pabirong ibinahagi sa Facebook ni Sir Joan Concha, 29, Social Studies teacher sa Quezon City, ang isang meme na nasa anyong sertipiko ng isang degree sa 'TikTok University of Manila'. Aniya, nakita lamang din niya sa isang Facebook page ang naturang sertipiko, at naisipan niyang i-share ito dahil sa palagay niya ay napapanahon ito. Ang naturang sertipiko ay 'patama' sa mga taong mahilig gumamit ng mga impormasyong napanood sa TikTok at hindi na nagsagawa ng fact-check kung reliable ba ito.

"Marami silang candidates diyan. Pwede ko nga silang i-tag eh. Kaso na-unfriend ko na pala. Yung iba may minor in Creative Writing / Malikhaing Pagsulat pa. Hahaha," caption ni Concha sa kaniyang Facebook post. Marami naman sa mga netizens ang naaliw at sumang-ayon sa kaniyang sinabi.

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Sa panayam ng Balita Online, sinabi ni Concha na bagama't nakakatawa ang nilalaman ng naturang meme, napapanahon naman ang mensaheng nakapaloob dito.

"Aside from it being funny yet true, I feel that this is timely and relevant since some of the random posts I've seen seem to be compelling and true but upon checking, the sources they used are either "ctto", from a random vlogger in YouTube, or from TikTok," aniya.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with using these platforms; however, the facts being presented are based on unreliable/unverified facts. Hence, these vloggers and TikTokers who share info/create content about a certain period in Philippine history entitled themselves as experts."

Kaya naman, napapansin niya sa kabataan ngayon, lalo na sa mga mag-aaral, na bibihira na lamang ang mga gumagamit ng textbooks o iba pang mga nakalimbag na suplementaryong materyal, kapag sila ay nananaliksik ng mga impormasyon o detalye para sa kanilang takdang-aralin, o paghahanda para sa asignatura.

"For them, research means using the info they have seen from various social media platforms. Sadly, these are not even based on reliable primary and secondary sources (i.e., journals, textbooks)," ayon pa sa kaniya.

Ano naman ang masasabi niya sa mga TikTok videos at iba pang social media platforms na siya mismo ang nakakabasa o nakakapanood?

"Personally, I am aware that not all the info I'll see on these platforms are reliable and valid. Unless these authors/creators are experts or practitioners in their respective fields. I appreciate in fact historians, social scientists, and the likes for going down their ivory tower and sharing what they know through this platform. It's engaging," tugon niya.

"But it's also toxic/stressful if you encounter contents that are baseless. In fact, there were instances when I even engaged myself in an online debate (by just simply commenting and eventually that comment went on a thread about a specific topic)."

Kaya naman, bilang isang guro ng Social Studies, may mensahe siya para sa lahat, lalo na ang mga mag-aaral, kung sila ay gagamit ng YouTube o TikTok bilang sanggunian.

"Since may time na rin naman kayo to engage yourself in watching YouTube/TikTok, bakit di n'yo rin subukan mag-invest na magbasa ng reliable sources. If you feel that you don't know what to believe, better use these question to at least filter whether this is reliable or not."

"1. Who is the author? What makes him believable?"

"2. When was this published?"

"3. Why was this published?"

"4. What makes this source a reliable source? Is it worthy to be shared?"

Panawagan pa niya, "Please do us a favor, do not be an instrument of propagating false information, especially online. That is at least what you can do as a responsible citizen in a digital world. Lastly, please do not get your degree in YouTube and TikTok! Yes, they may be engaging but that doesn't mean they're the absolute source of truth. Verify!