Facebook Pays Consulting Firm for TikTok Fears

Meta has been paying one of the nation’s largest right-leaning consulting firms to undermine public perception of TikTok, the Chinese-owned social media app that’s been drawing young users away from Facebook and Instagram, according to The Washington Post.

According to the Post on Tuesday, the campaign included efforts to influence local politicians and political reporters to make TikTok a threat to children in their coverage and communications. It includes news stories, letters and lobbying to paint the popular social media app as a threat to children. “dangerous.”

Targeted Victory Consulting, which was obtained by The Post in internal emails, stated that it must be “get the message out that while Meta is the current punching bag, TikTok is the real threat especially as a foreign-owned app that is #1 in sharing data that young teens are using.”

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TikTok is owned by Beijing-based Byte Dance. It has aggressively entered the social-sharing space, especially for U.S. teens. According to an internal report released last year, Facebook researchers claimed that teens spent up to three-times more time on TikTok as Instagram.

Recognized Targeted Victory Post Although it represented Meta for several decades, it did not comment on the role it played other than to say that it was “proud of the work we have done.”

The Post reported that internal emails showed that the firm encouraged partners to influence local media stories linking TikTok with dangerous teen trends. “Any local examples of bad Tik/Tok trends/stories in your markets?”One employee wrote. “Dream would be to get stories with headlines like ‘From dances to danger: how TikTok has become the most harmful social media space for kids.’”

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Meta did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Tuesday. The Post was informed by a spokesperson for Meta: “We believe all platforms, including TikTok, should face a level of scrutiny consistent with their growing success.”

TikTok stated to the paper that it is concerned about “the stoking of local media reports on alleged trends that have not been found on the platform.”

Targeted Victory operatives promoted stories about TikTok problems that led to school disruptions, vandalism, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D.Conn.), called on TikTok executives before a Senate subcommittee to testify, claiming the app had been illegal. “repeatedly misused and abused to promote behavior and actions that encourage harmful and destructive acts.”

At least some of the offending challenges are addressed, such as “Slap a Teacher”According to Anna Foley of Gimlet, the original challenge spread to Facebook.

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The Post reported that Targeted Victory campaign sent opinion letters gushing over Facebook, which highlighted things such as its support for Black-owned companies. The letters didn’t acknowledge Meta’s connection — a common theme among the stories that Targeted Victory helped create and amplify, according to the Post.

This firm, based in Arlington, Virginia was founded in 2012 and has advised Facebook regularly since. Its website states that it provides “a wealth of knowledge and experience to help people make better decisions.” “a right-of-center perspective to solve marketing challenges”It is the largest firm of its type.

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