STOP THE BAN!!!

 As all tik tok users saw last week, there was a petition page on tik ok right as you opened it to encourage users to partake in protecting this app. This all started when a bill was passed to effectively remove tik tok under the circumstance that the Chinese company does not comply with standards the US government has recently released. To go even further than tik tok itself the “Restrict Act” (March 7, 2023) gives added powers to the Secretary of Commerce to start banning most Chinese owned apps in America. This act also puts citizens at a disadvantage for challenging these decisions. With all these events taking place to go against and abolish tik tok judicial systems have also stepped in and are not being ordered to act on created criminal penalties to any citizens who tries to access the app after it has been banned. It is time for the more than 100 million American tik tok users to send emails to congress, sign petitions, spread the decision’s being made and take action to defend the app of our generation. If the ban goes through American citizens are put in a position where our 1^st amendment rights are in jeopardy due to such a large control of our internet usage. There are alternatives to give our government the peace of mind they want while not completely wiping out an entire branch of internet from the American citizens. 

https://go.peoplepower.org/letter/tiktok-ban

 

My Take:

As I’ve stated over and over in my previous blogs, I still just don’t understand the logic in such monumental advances our government is making towards the app. I mean our political and presidential structures want to preach how America protects its citizens rights and values citizens inputs (HELLO DEMOCRACY) yet is choosing to take a very restrictive measure against not only the app itself but the citizens and politicians who could greatly boost their votes as well. It in its entirety is messing with our right to the 1^st amendment and the government seems to not care anymore so long as they don’t get their feelings hurt over their relations with China. 

 

 

My Question to You:

Obviously have you signed the petition when it popped up on your phone? If you did not why? Did you think it was a fake or a spam of some sort?

****Below I have added a link directly to the petition to anyone who would like to sign :)***

https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-tiktok-ban-021414e9-86da-402c-8fef-59294d08416d

Georgia Runoffs and Tik Tok

 Georgia Lefkowicz is a teenager from Georgia who has always been interested in politics. He will be old enough to vote on November 3, 2020, and he plans to engage in them. Senate elections are at the top of Lefkowitz’s list of priorities because they "will decide the future of American politics for the next two years." In other words, if Americans want to get anything done in politics, they must first get through the Senate and actively participate in these elections. Lefkowicz, like many other millennials, shared their opinions and study findings on social media, but statistics reveal that most of them use Tik Tok to increase their viewing.  Specifically pertaining to Georgia politics, Senator David Perdue, and Jon Ossoff, the 2020 election rivals, are a prime illustration of how young individuals are utilizing the Tik Tok platform to disseminate state-level politics. Because there have been so many posts on this election in particular, Georgia has been ranked as one of the states with the highest political activity and higher voter turnout than in the 2016 election season—which, incidentally, is the year Tik Tok was just launched. Georgia adopts more younger electors into the senate in addition to being a state where voting is more popular; as a result, Tik Tok is being used more frequently in Georgia than ever before for advertising purposes. Tom Bonier, the CEO of Target Smart, expresses his amazement at the voter statistics in the smaller elections, even though most people prefer presidential elections over state elections. Young adults in Georgia are not only getting more involved in society, but they are also getting involved in their state government, which is crucial as the elected officials make many decisions that affect our state's favorable aspects.

 

 

My Take:

I believe that not only with Georgia but every state in America has in some form or another seen an increase in voter turn out from executive to state elections as a result of Tik Tok. Politicians in any area have to understand that Tik Tok is essentially the life line for the survival of young voters to continue being politically active. In the case of George Lefkowicz he was a young kid interested in elections and once he became of age he was able to utilize the most popular app to help  engage other peers of his age group (Young Adults). He also publicized a major standard that even myself tend to over look which is the amount of power the Senate hold to each individual state. From now on I am going to be paying more attention to Georgias political sphere as those electorates are the ones making the most direct and impactful decisions for me. 

My Question to You:

What ways (if any) do you get information about any government decisions happing in the senate? Does Tik Tok help you to stay in the loop? Maybe even a specific Tik Tok influencer?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/georgia-runoff-youth-vote/2020/12/30/8104720c-4605-11eb-b0e4-0f182923a025_story.html

Does Gov. Whitmer Make a Valid Point About Tik Tok???

 In 2023, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer prohibited the use of Tik Tok on any equipment owned by the state. Nonetheless, the app is still allowed to be used by certain state agencies. Whitmer’s move was brought about by Biden's ban on Tik Tok on government-owned devices. The information-mining methods of the Chinese-owned app, which gave priority to child use and created privacy concerns regarding the owners' possible access to data from Tik Tok-connected devices, served as her main defense for taking this action. In return, she and the Michigan government may now relax, knowing that this preventive measure has kept their data safe from the Chinese authorities. Despite everything she has done with the app and her concerns, she still utilizes a specific "Tik Tok only phone" to access her active Tik Tok account. Although she expresses worries, she also notes that the app has significantly captured the attention of younger users, which is her primary motivation for utilizing it. Despite her distaste for the Chinese-owned software, she recognizes its significance for the well-being of our government and chooses to reach out to the young voters in hopes to keep them engaged with events going on in our political system.

My Take:

While I am an active Tik Tok user I have to say that Whitmer made good claims to her suspicion of the app and possible threats it might have towards our government while simultaneously defending it for the huge impact it has on the new generation of voters. I mean come on the government can hate it sure but with the amount of people using the platform everyday as their information source there must be aspects they can’t go without as Whitmer outlined. Social media is the new generations form of news stations. Without these media outlets the voter turnout will continue to shrink as Tik Tok in specific is almost the lifeline that the government has to keep young people engaged and voting. 

 

My Question to You:

If you were in a government position and you had the option to ban Tik Tok on government phones would you? or would you allow the app on government devices? Why?

 

https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/michigan-governor-whitmer-explains-tiktok-use-as-app-is-banned-on-state-phones

Let's Slap Gen-Z Voters in the Face!!!

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?

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/tiktok-ban-slap-face-young-democratic-voters-activists-warn-rcna76142

Influencers Merge with the White House

 

While the Biden administration is in favor for getting rid of Tik Tok they are ironically using the app and many of the major influencers to create videos that encourage a higher voter turnout for younger people while educating viewers on Bidens reelection agenda goals for the new term as president (if he gets reelected). Bidens digital strategy team is attempting to gain influencers to work with from regions all over the country who utilize the apps tik tok and Instagram the most. With the goal of attracting young voters in specific targeting these two social media apps will allow for the best outcomes that are favored by the Biden administration. With the label that the United States government gave tik tok of being a potential threat to US government they sure are leaning the most on this app to sway their desired outcome. To add to this insistent reliance on tik tok new sparks have furthered the US suspicion of the app through recent interviews with Shou Zi Chew that US officials perceived as threating. This event and the reaction of the Biden administration is very interesting, they add new events to their list of suspicions of the app, yet the Biden administration and all other candidates are still betting the ideal outcome of young voters on tik tok.

My Take:

With how simple it is for anyone to view these short and satisfying videos pack with information I understand the Biden administrations tactic of recruiting tik tok influencers to work with the White House to help grab the attention of millions of young adults. But what confuses me is the debate on if tik tok is trusted or not in the government’s eyes yet tik tok is still the most utilize tool within all parties of government to sway voter turnout in their favor. Why would the US want to ban an app that has shown multiple times how impactful it can be with the outcomes of how our government system turns out. Specifically speaking aside from the Biden administration using it as a tool to gain votes the app has also raised awareness to corrupt government events which resulted in a positive correction.

My Question to You: 

If you are not that into voting in elections what kind of tik tok posts would capture your interest the most? Do you believe that the Biden administration will see the favored outcome among young citizens and voting out come in this election? Why/Why not?

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/white-house-recruits-tiktok-influencers-to-reach-young-voters-with-key-mess/647167/

TikTok, the American Government's Hurt Feelings, and Palestine

 Event Summary:

As the Israel-Gaza war continues to take place Tik-Tok has been one of the biggest influences on the people’s opinions about the event taking place worldwide. While the United States has been showing more support towards Israel during this war out of the 150 million Americans using tik Tok have shown significant favoritism towards the opposing side being Palestine. Since this media app allows for freedom to post about any view users have the United States government feel very threatened at the hashtag statist comparison between #standwithpalestine having 2.9 billion views and #standwithislael having only 200 million views. Due to these statistics the United States government is projecting that this is yet another reason to ban tik tok in America. With the United States government accusing the over pouring support of Palestine a result of the Chinese governments preference in this war, the Chinese media company the owns tik tok states they have no influence on who views what videos stating that pro-Israel and pro-Palestine videos have both been relatively spilt in the millions as far as views go. Along with the US government groups of Jewish individuals are also calling on the creators of tik tok to set up a harsher monitoring system and a better guide to public disclosure as well. 

My Take:

So, if America has created the right of “freedom of speech” to all who reside in this country why are they so hurt at the fact that while the government supports Israel its people choose to support Palestine? The power of events, videos, and event interviews of people from both countries during this war will give tik tok users the closes in person understanding of the impacts both countries face. I saw a tik tok interview with a family in Palestine who suffered heartbreaking consequences of this war which gained millions of views but within the same day I also saw the same video format of an Israel family which also gained millions of views. If I had to figure out if the Chinese government was out to “brainwash” American citizens, I would complete disagree. Users across America as well as any other country have probably seen both sides of this war broadcasted over tik tok it’s the American government who is getting all hurt that their citizens don’t hold the same mindset on this war as they do.

My Question to You:

If you were in the US government how would you factor in all the events through this war on Tik Tok and the national security of America? Would you agree that this Chinese app is tampering with viral videos to better match their beliefs? 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/11/02/tiktok-israel-hamas-video-brainwash/

Democrat Jeff Jackson Narrows in on the Major Tool of Tik Tok for Campaign Strategy

 With over 150 million American voters accessing Tik Tok on a regular daily basis Democrats are starting to feel like they can utilize this media platform to increase the results for their campaigns. As Elena Moore suggests as congressmen and honestly anyone affiliated with our politics makes a change or decisions the country wants the insight and to be able to speak about any events that go on through our political systems. 

 For example, congressman Jeff Jackson decided to return to his district and in doing so he utilized tik tok in creating a short clip informing the viewers on tik tok about the event. In return he has caught both the attention and interest of many more possible voters than if he wouldn’t have shared a simple yet intriguing event with the public via tik tok. Through posting updates weekly to his viewers on tik tok Jeff Jackson has accumulated over 2 million followers on tik tok (@jeffjacksonnc). Through him sharing what he knows to the public and creating an influencer of himself the amount of people who gained trust in him and support him will likely increase his chances of gaining the position as Attorney General of Capital Hill in the 2024 election season. Of the politicians in Capitall Hill the small amount who do have and utilize tik tok are solely of the democratic party. The key part in why not as many people within our political system have tik tok is because being able to get through to people via this media platform takes the skill of understand the best way to be informative and to grasp the most viewers interest at the same time. So, do you think all politicians regardless of party took the time to understand what format information is spread to tik tok viewers it would result in a more competitive election and have a better outcome towards our politicians in office?https://www.npr.org/2023/11/01/1209857239/democrats-consider-how-tiktok-may-fit-into-their-2024-campaign-strategy