It will take legislation to restrict TikTok: Pillsbury
Hudson Institute director of Chinese strategy Michael Pillsbury weighs in on the threat of China on ‘Kudlow.’
Communist China's state-run media is using TikTok – a social media site mainly popular with young Americans – to stealthily influence politics in the United States, bashing "mostly Republicans" with "divisive videos." This is according to a new report from Forbes.
Journalist Emily Baker-White explained that MediaLinks TV, "a registered foreign agent and Washington D.C.-based outpost of the main Chinese Communist Party television news outlet," posts videos "without clear disclosure that they were posted by a foreign government."
Some of the videos posted in the months prior to the 2022 midterms include captions like "Cruz, Abbott Don’t Care About Us," "Rubio Has Done Absolutely Nothing." In her piece, Baker-White wrote, "Nothing in these videos disclosed to viewers that they were being pushed by a foreign government."
According to Forbes, MediaLinks TV "criticized some candidates (mostly Republicans), and favored others (mostly Democrats)."
TIKTOK POSES 'LEGITIMATE NATIONAL SECURITY CONCERNS': TREASURY SECRETARY YELLEN
TikTok app logo on the App Store is seen with TikTok logo displayed in the background in this illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland on July 18, 2021. ((Photo Ilustration by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images) / Getty Images) One of the largest accounts run by MediaLinksTV is @NewsTokks. Many of its videos focus on abortion, gun control (one example was entitled "A Uniquely American Plague"), structural racism. Baker-White explained these are "all topics that were also used by Russian election meddlers seeking to divide Americans and weaken confidence in democratic institutions." The Forbes article noted that there is some identifying information on the MediaLinks accounts. Profile bios read: "Material distributed by MediaLinks TV LLC on behalf of CCTV. More info at DOJ, D.C.." But as Baker-White stated, most don’t click on bios. And those who do might not know that CCTV stands for the state-run China Central TV. TikTok is owned by the Beijing-based ByteDance. As Forbes pointed out, that company allegedly "instructed employees working on one of its other apps, a now-defunct news aggregator called TopBuzz, to push pro-China messages to U.S. users." (ByteDance has denied this.) TIKTOK HIRES FORMER BIDEN CAMPAIGN PRESS SECRETARY, PENTAGON SPOKESMAN FOR TOP GIG AT CHINESE-OWNED VIDEO APP L-R: TikTok; South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (Getty Images; AP / Fox News) In early November, South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem issued an executive order banning state agencies from using TikTok. Noem told Fox News, "It's off our networks. It's blocked off of our servers. Any state employee, anybody who contracts with the state of South Dakota, anybody who uses the national security threat that it is." Regarding the potential threat of China manipulating TikTok, she warned, "It's so much worse. And they're our enemy. They hate us. This is why it's so important that other elected officials take action as well." WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 01: Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) attends a press conference announcing Senate Republicans’ opposition to D.C. statehood on Capitol Hill July 01, 2020 in Washington, DC. The House of Representatives voted on Friday to recognize the Dis (Getty Images) CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP On Tuesday, Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton suggested, "If you have [TikTok] on your phone, you should probably delete it and get a new phone." Source: Read Full Article
