Meta reportedly hired political consultants to malign TikTok

The battle for market dominance between Mark Zuckerberg’s
Meta and Chinese video app TikTok has become ugly. Facebook’s parent company
has been paying political consulting firm “Targeted Victory” to run a smear
campaign against its Chinese competitor, reported The Washington Post.

Also Read | EU approves tough laws targeting US tech giants in Europe

Under the smear campaign, news stories, opinion pieces,
and letters to editors blaming TikTok for harmful teen behaviour are allegedly
being pushed out by Targeted Victory. The main objective is to present TikTok
in a bad light and make the app a threat in the public eye.

Some of the most popular “anti-TikTok” new pieces
allegedly popularized by Meta and the consulting firm were about the
short-video app sharing customers’ private data with Chinese authorities.

Also Read | Russia kicks Meta out for ‘extremist activity’, WhatsApp stay secure

On the other hand, Targeted Victory pushed news stories
alleging that the “devious licks challenge” — in which students
vandalized school property — originated on TikTok but the trend originated on
Facebook.

Meta is trying to convince politicians to crack down on
TikTok while simultaneously promoting Facebook’s value, the report states.

Also Read | Russian troops leaving Chernobyl nuclear plant after radiation exposure

Last year, leaked documents by the whistleblower Frances
Haugen, Facebook researchers said teens were spending “2-3X more time” on
TikTok than Instagram, and that Facebook’s popularity among young people had
plummeted.

The firm tried to spread the news of a viral “Slap a
Teacher TikTok challenge.” Turns out no such trend existed, and rumours of
its existence originated on Facebook.

Also Read | Hackers steal Ether worth $600 million in one of the biggest crypto thefts

When asked by The Post, Targeted Victory declined to
comment on the anti-TikTok campaign but said it was “proud” of
serving Meta for several years.

Meta spokesperson Andy Stone defended the campaign by
saying, “We believe all platforms, including TikTok, should face a level of
scrutiny consistent with their growing success.”

Also Read | Naomi Irion update: Nevada teen’s body found 2 weeks after being kidnapped from Walmart parking lot

On the other hand, TikTok expressed deep concern about
“the stoking of local media reports on alleged trends that have not been found
on the platform.”