‘lol’ or national security concern, according to Biden on TikTok?
Not least because the Chinese-owned social media network is still officially seen as a security concern by Washington, US President Joe Biden’s debut on TikTok has generated controversy.
The 81-year-old’s reelection campaign aired an ad during the Super Bowl on Sunday, which included a reference to the humorous meme of a Biden alter ego with laser-like eyes.
Republicans, meanwhile, have attacked Democrat Joe Biden for using an app that is prohibited on US federal government computers because they believe it collects data for China.
On Monday, even the White House acknowledged that it was still worried about TikTok.
After being questioned repeatedly on the matter, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters, “There are still national security concerns about the use of Tiktok on government devices and there’s been no change to that policy.”
Although it was prohibited by election laws from making official comments on campaign-related issues, the White House acknowledged in a broader sense that it was concerned about the dissemination of misinformation on apps like TikTok.
“We are concerned about it,” said Karine Jean-Pierre, press secretary for the White House.
Many US lawmakers have accused TikTok, which is controlled by the Chinese corporation ByteDance, of being a propaganda weapon for Beijing. The company vehemently disputes these accusations.
Republican Senator Joni Ernst said on X, previously Twitter, that the worries “didn’t stop the Biden campaign from joining the CCP’s dangerous propaganda app,” alluding to the Chinese Communist Party.
Republican Representative Darrell Issa said, “Panic is when the Biden campaign joins TikTok after the White House banned the app from devices a year ago.”
“Hey guys.”
However, it is evident that Biden’s team believes that using TikTok to engage younger people is worthwhile in front of a potential November showdown with Republican nominee and social media mogul Donald Trump.
Additionally, they hope that these social media postings would alleviate voters’ worries about Biden’s advanced age, which have grown since a special counsel report last week referred to him as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
Tagged under “lol hey guys,” In a lighthearted video released on Sunday, the @bidenhq campaign account discusses everything from politics to the NFL championship game.
When questioned about a right-wing conspiracy theory that the game was rigged so pop sensation Taylor Swift—who is dating Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce—could use her stardom to back Biden, Biden responds, “I’d get in trouble if I told you.”
The “Dark Brandon” meme, which features Biden with bright red eyes and a broad smile and is used by Democrats to suggest superpowers, then appears in the video.
Biden campaign deputy manager Rob Flaherty said in a statement, “The President’s TikTok debut last night — with more than 5 million views and counting — is proof positive of both our commitment and success in finding new, innovative ways to reach voters.”
According to Jean-Pierre, the University of California Santa Barbara’s American Presidency Project, Biden has held 33 press conferences in his first three years, compared with 66 for Barack Obama and 52 for Donald Trump. This exploration of new media, he said, partially explains why Biden has held fewer press conferences than his predecessors.
