TikTok
TikTok ‘Deeply Concerned’ by Facebook’s Paid Campaign to Promote Negative Coverage of Social App
TikTok said Wednesday it was “deeply concerned” by a campaign paid for by Meta, the parent company of Facebook, to promote negative coverage of the shortform social platform in local media coverage. As reported by The Washington Post, Meta has paid a “right of center” marketing firm, Targeted Victory, to lead a campaign that has included placing op-eds and letters to the editor in local papers to promote anti-TikTok sentiment, especially when it comes to children using the app. Targeted Victory allegedly worked with local operatives to promote the negative coverage around purported trends on TikTok harming children to compel lawmakers to take action; the firm also sought to promote positive coverage about Meta and use the anti-TikTok pieces to deflect from government antitrust and privacy ...
Facebook Hired GOP Firm to Launch Smear Campaign Against TikTok
Facebook’s parent company Meta has contracted one of the country’s largest Republican consulting firms to choreograph a nationwide smear campaign against TikTok, The Washington Post reports. The campaign has successfully placed op-eds and letters to the editor in major newspapers, spread unfounded rumors that damaging Facebook trends began on TikTok instead, and won the support of one apparently unwitting Democrat senator, all while exposing how deeply intertwined Meta has become with GOP politics. The Republican firm, Targeted Victory, was described in 2016 as “the GOP’s go-to technology consultant firm,” with a track record at the time of successfully boosting Ted Cruz’s national profile. Its website advertises a “hyperlocal” approach to politics, which can be seen in the astro...
TikTok Makes Oscars Debut During ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’ Performance
As the cast of Encanto surprised audiences with a Megan Thee Stallion–featuring performance of the mega-hit song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” another first was underway at the Academy Awards: TikTok made it to the Oscars. As cast members like Stephanie Beatriz, Diane Guerrero, Adassa and Mauro Castillo were joined by Becky G and Luis Fonsi for a new rendition of the song, a swirling projected globe in the background of the performance featured a total of 88 TikTok videos, according to a TikTok spokesperson, about Encanto and its ear worm song. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The projected videos marked the first time TikTok videos have ever appeared at the Oscars during a night when two Twitter-voted...
Elderly Woman Crushes Rob Zombie’s “Dragula” at Karaoke: Watch
Here’s one we didn’t expect to see: an elderly woman absolutely slaying Rob Zombie’s “Dragula” at karaoke. A TikTok user captured the unprecedented performance of the 1998 hit at a bar in Fargo, North Dakota. The viral clip starts up right as the chorus drops, and based on our singer’s delivery and confidence, it appears she already knew the song and didn’t have to read the lyrics screen. “Grandma killing Rob Zombie,” read the video captions. “I’ve never seen anything better than this.” Advertisement Related Video Grandma even busts out some stage moves, beckoning the sparse crowd to come forward before brandishing a very metal power fist. Perhaps more jaw-dropping than the disparity between performer and song is the indifference shown by those in attendance. The people in the foreground o...
How the Internet is Giving Side-Hustling South Africans the Earning Edge
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The White House Briefs TikTok Stars on Ukraine Crisis
National Security Council staffers and White House press secretary Jen Psaki gathered 30 TikTok stars via Zoom Thursday, March 10th for a briefing on the war between Russia and Ukraine. Since Russia invaded Ukraine late last month, TikTok became an unlikely source of real-time information for millions around the world. While the app has proven to be a useful tool for reporters, its algorithm has also harbored dangerous misinformation and Russian propaganda. Psaki led the briefing alongside Matt Miller, a special adviser for communications at the White House National Security Council. In a recording obtained by The Washington Post, Biden officials emphasized the influence these creators have in online discussions surrounding the crisis. “We recognize this is a critically important aven...
How MGMT’s ‘Little Dark Age’ Became an Unstoppable TikTok Meme
Like many 40-year-olds who engage with social media only when necessary, MGMT co-founder Ben Goldwasser doesn’t have a TikTok account. So when the title track of the band’s 2018 album, Little Dark Age, suddenly began appearing in thousands of videos on the platform in the first pandemic summer of 2020, he had to rely on his wife and friends to clue him in on the out-of-nowhere phenomenon. “It was surprising to me to even have our song be on TikTok at all, and then it was like, ‘Well, how big is this?’” Goldwasser tells SPIN by phone. “I don’t even know what a big TikTok song is or what that means.” In this case, “big” doesn’t really do justice to what’s been going on with “Little Dark Age” on TikTok, where users have made more than 5.5 million videos that weave the song int...
Why Travel Brands Need to Use Social Media to Engage Younger Consumers
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Mental Health Investigation Launched Against TikTok
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U.S. Investigation Launched Into TikTok’s Effect on Kids’ Health
State attorneys general have launched a nationwide investigation into TikTok and its possible harmful effects on young users’ mental health, widening government scrutiny of the wildly popular video platform. The investigation was announced Wednesday by a number of states led by California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee and Vermont. U.S. lawmakers and federal regulators have criticized TikTok, citing practices and computer-driven promotion of content they say can endanger the physical and mental health of young users. The platform has an estimated 1 billion monthly users and is especially popular with teens and younger children. Last month, Texas opened an investigation into TikTok’s alleged violations of children’s privacy and facilitation of human traff...
Trending Up: Ed Sheeran Has Hits for All Radio Formats — Plus YoungBoy Never Broke Again, Yeat & More
Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up newsletter, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip. This week: As Ed Sheeran makes multiple radio plays, YoungBoy Never Broke Again and Yeat score viral hip-hop hits, and newcomer Maddy Zahm launches an emotional new trend. Ed Sheeran = Radio Ubiquity Although Equals (=), Ed Sheeran’s fourth solo album released last October, hasn’t risen to the level of chart-topping single success that 2017’s ÷ did (two No. 1s on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Shape Of You” and “Perfect”), the project’s past six months have stil...
TikTok Tackles YouTube with “Any Length” Videos
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