Love TikTok, Fear The Fallout
It’s a Br-oligarchy faceoff
Power positioning, communications battles, propaganda plans, and what really happens with only a few controlling all major social media platforms
TikTok died, then came back, but at what cost? Many of us in communications, media, marketing, and/or academia (history, sociology, psychology) have all been watching the process closely, as it is indicative of a much larger cultural conversation. But...after recent developments, potentially all of the major social media apps in the hands of a few (See oligarchy, plutocracy, etc) should be ringing alarm bells for everyone. TikTok was the greatest app for creativity and community, but we should all be cautious about what comes next across all of these platforms. Large creators on the platform are already very skeptical (as they should be), and theories are flying. But first, I recommend starting with this excellent article from The Atlantic “TikTok’s near death experience” and The Verge “Welcome to the era of gangster tech regulation” preparing yourself for the chaotic and dangerous distraction show we are headed into yet again under this administration (especially given 19 (!!) former Fox News hosts, commentators, on-air medical experts, producers, and staff are set to join President-elect Trump’s second administration)
But first, some catch up on the timeline:
The slow roll towards the initial TikTok ban
Yes, Tru*p initially called for a TikTok ban before switching
Strange congress hearing with TikTok, offered no proof
Meta lobbying for the ban for fear of losing more business
Meta also have massive data leak on multiple occasions
Zuckerberg suddenly decided to remove
A reminder that Musk destroyed Twitter and made it the messy X
Ban gets approved, SCOTUS agrees
Users revolt and go to the Chinese app RedNote
TikTok CEO refuses to sell, meets with Tru*p, suddenly friendly
Strangely Facebook & Instagram set up accounts on TikTok before it shuts down
TikTok goes dark over 12 hours with cryptic notes about working to come back - first a general note, and then mentioning Tru*p specifically
TikTok says it’s coming back online after Trump vowed to halt ban
Ta-da! TikTok comes back online but is acting strangely and following accounts on its own
This all reeks of power positioning and propaganda planning 101. From the beginning of politics time, there has always been a mouthpiece, standing on a rock somewhere pontificating to the masses on behalf of their “leader”. As someone deeply entrenched in the world of communications and media, this continues to be the case where fixers and speakers make the magic happen. And by magic, I mean repeated messaging and talking points, with moves and counter moves to outdo their rivals, hopefully spreading their side to the masses faster. So what happens in the social media era where it is no longer reading from a scroll, but passing on an opinion or message to millions at once? And what if multiple platforms like that were under heavy influence of a small group with an agenda? Given we have had so many problems with widespread misinformation on facebook, instagram, X, and others, what will happen if/when TikTok falls under that team control with a 50% stake? All of these tech bros will be at tomorrow’s inauguration, bending the knee (Which reminds me, this Guardian Oped titled “I knew one day I’d have to watch powerful men burn the world down – I just didn’t expect them to be such losers” is still my favorite of the month so far), so the real question is: What comes next and are we prepared for it with the nation’s general lack of media literacy?
Something else to note: The competition to lure creators to their platforms is heating up with cash options. Ironically, there has been a large backlash against Meta and it's outdated platforms, so let's see...Just in the last few weeks:
- Meta has rolled out a new “breakthrough bonus program” that offers up to $5000 to creators who are new to the company's apps
- Instagram is extending large cash bonuses to TikTok creators who post Reels exclusively on the platform
- Substack launched a $20 Million “creator accelerator fund,” promising content creators they won't lose revenue by switching to their platform
- Snapchat is reminding creators that its app is a central place to build a community in a new ad campaign
Also, some of my previous posts on that subject include:
And finally, I just read Biden's White House team post on the National Resilience Strategy to help inform state and local climate resilience efforts. Worth a read (and a download)
Stay tuned.