How Facebook Tried to Take Down TikTok

Written by: Online Business Owner • April 04, 2022

Image Source: unsplash.com/@solenfeyissa

New reporting from The Washington Post details how Facebook’s parent company Meta has engaged in battle in the public eye over TikTok and the supposed harm it causes users.

Post journalists uncovered details of a deal between Meta and Targeted Victory – one of the largest Republican consulting firms in the US.

The goal? To organize a nationwide campaign to get the public to turn on TikTok. Taylor Lorenz and Drew Harwell write for The Post,

“The campaign includes placing op-eds and letters to the editor in major regional news outlets, promoting dubious stories about alleged TikTok trends that actually originated on Facebook, and pushing to draw political reporters and local politicians into helping take down its biggest competitor.”

Targeted Victory worked with their network of local media outlets, PR firms, journalists, and conservative leaders to promote false or misleading trends and challenges they say were taking place on TikTok.

One example is the “Slap a Teacher challenge.”

“In October, Targeted Victory worked to spread rumors of the ‘Slap a Teacher TikTok challenge’ in local news, touting a local news report on the alleged challenge in Hawaii. In reality, no such challenge existed on TikTok.”

They also collaborated with local newspapers and Republican elected officials to run and promote opt-eds and letters to the editor decrying the harms of TikTok and raising concerns about the Chinese-owned platform.

The team at The Washington Post has more detailed reporting about the entire operation. We encourage you to give it a read!

Why this matters for online business

Why this matters for online business – Like any social media platform, there are real concerns related to TikTok and the potential harm it can cause its users.

However, this new reporting shows that much of the publicized concerns around TikTok may be an exaggeration or could be the work of Meta to help them maintain as much market share as possible.

Online business owners need to understand that there are powers at play beyond us and decisions are being made at levels far above our paygrade. These decisions impact our lives as business owners and marketers who depend on these platforms.

Additionally, this is just further proof that Meta is doing anything they can to remain as relevant as possible as they continue to lose users and lose market share to TikTok. This story raises questions about the future of Meta and their products.

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