While both Republicans and Democrats are not in favor of the app Tik Tok, political influencers including Aidan Kohn-Murphy are using the app to fight back against people in office specifically speaking on the Biden administrations intentions on killing Tik Tok. While Murphy was pro Biden going as far as launching a who group on Tik Tok aimed in the support of Joe Biden while he was running for presidency during the 2020 elections, he has now changed gears advocating for Gen-Z political involvement through Tik Tok. Through his movement of using Tik Tok to now work on deterring Bidens choices of the survival of this app Murphy along with his co-creators with a combined 500 million followers are coming in stronger than ever to fight for this app not just for themselves but for the health of our political environment itself. Along with Murphy there are several other influencers trying to reach the house with the concern that they are making the jump to strike Tik Tok down without even being truly involved in the online community to see what advantages they risk losing if the ban is carried out. The main concern is the push from government officials to get young voters more politically active yet contemplating banning the most widely used and influential app these young voters use to gain perspectives of political events, movements, and elections. With members of the Biden administration going as far to admit that banning the app will endure a dead end towards their reach on voters under 30. With democratic parties is having seen a positive change in their voter turn outs through this app it is ironic such an argument is even being presented. As Democratic strategist Kurt Bardella finds through an interview with a very well-off influencer what their plan B is if the government stops Tik Tok they didn’t have one. This just goes to show the hold this app has on not only the lives of Gen Zs but throughout all world even issues.
My Take:
Through being an active user on the political side of Tik Tok I am a part of the 500 million followers of this movement. It both makes me happy and blows my mind that we must even create such movements to preserve this app. For the white house to even check out the movement and see just how much support it has (more than the entire American population) and still turn their head at it is asinine. These political figures are being set in place to protect this country and serve in the best interests of its citizens, yet they want to handicap the new generation of voters due to their relationship with China? When there is no evidence backing up their claims of the Chinese app creator aside from our government’s “feelings”.
My Question to You:
Have you come across any Tik Tok about Murphy’s Gen-Z political preservation? If you have what was your takeaway about the information being presented to you?
Hey Morgan,
ReplyDeleteI am not a tiktoker myself, but I really believe that information should not be silenced or eliminated. I mean, hello, Galileo? It never ends well. Knowing that as you said, there are “500 million” people using it as their mode of choice for political engagement, political strategists should utilize this medium to benefit their campaign strategies and mobilize the youth. The hopeful thing for me is that Gen Z is the first generation to really care about what is going on domestically but also how it affects the world since the hippies of the 60s. The best thing either party could do is coordinate with the influencers to help them gain momentum through election season. This is also why Taytay is so feared amongst Republicans because she has the sway to change the minds of her fans! I am a little confused though about what you meant at the very end. What did you mean about China? We are definitely heading to war with them in the near future because the whole issue of Taiwan’s sovereignty. I do not really think it is about “feelings” as it is about national security. One of my best friends works for the NSA in cybersecurity and he was the reason I never signed up for TikTok. Too many people have been hacked by Chinese intelligence and imagine what that would look like if we were truly at war with them. Considering the United States spends as much as we do on weapons, defense, and the military, this is how the Chinese know to really attack us – through cyberwarfare. What if there was a TikTok version that was American created? Not Twitter, Facebook, or Myspace but something the government could create to get the same buzz going through politics? If they were smart, they would do something like that to allow people to still make their dancing videos while also keeping them updated and engaged through politics. Encryption would also be the best way to keep all American’s privacy safe.