TikTok and AfricTivistes team up to tackle digital safety challenges across West Africa 🛡️🌍

In November 2025, Dakar hosted the TikTok West Africa Safety Summit, a first-of-its-kind gathering bringing together TikTok, AfricTivistes, government officials, policy experts, and local stakeholders to address digital safety concerns specific to the region. The summit spotlighted TikTok’s efforts to combat disinformation, harmful content, and coordinated influence campaigns through a locally-informed, collaborative approach. Rather than imposing top-down solutions, TikTok is betting on dialogue and regional partnerships to build a safer digital environment where communities can create and express themselves freely.

The numbers tell the story: moderation at scale 🚦

TikTok released striking figures from its latest quarterly enforcement report covering April through June 2025. The platform removed over 8.3 million videos across West Africa during that period, with 87% detected automatically through advanced AI systems before users ever reported them. In Senegal alone, more than 2.5 million pieces of content were taken down between early 2024 and mid-2025, alongside 16,000 interrupted LIVE sessions for violating community guidelines. These efforts reflect a hybrid approach that balances automated detection with human oversight to ensure fast, effective moderation.

Taking down influence operations and fighting manipulation 🎯

One of the summit’s most significant revelations involved a covert influence campaign. In March 2025, TikTok identified and dismantled a network of 129 accounts operating from Togo that were spreading false narratives designed to manipulate political discourse in West Africa and France. The takedown demonstrates the platform’s growing capability to detect and neutralize coordinated inauthentic behavior while increasing transparency around enforcement actions.

AfricTivistes: a strategic partner with deep local roots 🤝

At the heart of this initiative is AfricTivistes, which provides crucial local expertise that global platforms often lack. Aisha Dabo, a member of TikTok’s Safety Advisory Council for sub-Saharan Africa and co-founder of AfricTivistes, embodies this essential collaboration. She’s been vocal about the need for African-led solutions to address challenges unique to the region. This partnership represents a shift toward combining homegrown insights with big tech resources to preserve the diversity and authenticity of online spaces.

Building a safer, more responsible digital West Africa ✨

By opening this unprecedented dialogue, TikTok is laying groundwork for shared digital governance that reflects the region’s socio-political realities. The fight against disinformation and harmful content is far from over, but local engagement strengthens community resilience. This collaborative approach opens promising avenues for a West Africa that’s not just more connected, but meaningfully safer online.

What’s your take on TikTok’s efforts to make digital spaces safer in Africa? Are these actions enough to counter the growing challenges of disinformation? Drop your thoughts in the comments—your perspective matters.