Chinese gov't pushed anti-GOP propaganda on TikTok before midterms

A Chinese government propaganda outlet is quietly pushing content about U. S. politics over TikTok even as U.S. officials work with its Chinese ownership to address mounting national security concerns.

Some in the U. S. government have long warned that TikTok, the first foreign social media service to take hold in the country, could be used by the Chinese Communist Party to spy on American data or influence culture through content recommendations.

The U. S. is currently negotiating a contract with TikTok aimed at resolving national security concerns without requiring its Beijing-based owner, ByteDance, to sell the hugely popular app, as reported by the New York Times.

Now Forbes has revealed an account racking up millions of views with politically charged coverage of U. S. news, and it’s run by a U.S.-based branch of the CCP’s main TV broadcaster, China Central Television.

The account, NewsToks, mainly posted negative content about Republicans and positive content about Democrats leading to the 2022 midterm elections. A July video was captioned “Cruz, Abbott Don’t Care About Us” and another from October was titled “Rubio Has Done Absolutely Nothing,” Forbes reported.

One video that targeted Democrats asked viewers whether it was a “political manipulation tactic” for President Joe Biden to promise a bill codifying abortion rights. Another recent video describes why Native Americans don’t trust the U. S. government.

LinkedIn posts discovered by Forbes said the account had drawn 8.3 million views in a 60-day period. Other accounts that traced to the CCP that posted about sustainability and Chinese culture drew nearly 15 million views combined.... (Read more)

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