President Biden is losing support among young voters….
Why NOT go directly to them with his case for their votes thru social media?….
How ironic? ….
The Biden admin HAD been knocking TikTok as a Chinese National Security threat previously…
Hmmmmm?
President Biden‘s re-election campaign privately has been weighing whether to join the social media platform TikTok to try to reach more young voters, according to two people familiar with the conversations.
Why it matters: Most Republicans have avoided TikTok over data security concernsbecause it’s owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, but Democrats are increasingly split about using the popular app for short-form videos.
- Despite the security concerns several prominent Democrats who have signaled presidential ambitions have joined TikTok, in part to reach young voters who are crucial to the party’s chances in the 2024 elections.
- The Biden campaign is considering a jump onto the platform at a time when pollssuggest the president needs to boost his appeal to voters under 30, a group that typically favors Democrats by significant margins.
Zoom in: So far, Biden’s campaign has tried to benefit from TikTok without joining it, by leaning on friendly social media influencers and having the Democratic National Committee on the platform.
- Prominent Democrats on TikTok include Govs. Gretchen Whitmer (Michigan), Gavin Newson (California) and Josh Shapiro (Pennsylvania), Sen. Cory Booker (New Jersey) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York).
- “I’m trying to reach everyone, wherever they are,” Shapiro told Axios. “And that’s why I said you have to be on every platform and engage with them on my administration’s work.”
- The DNC has said it takes precautions to protect its data by having dedicated devices for use on TikTok…..
Nikki Haley knocking TikTok….
Nikki Haley ratcheted up her calls this week for the U.S. government to ban TikTok, the Chinese-owned social media platform, after some users, weighing in on the war between Israel and Hamas, promoted “Letter to America,” a text written by Osama bin Laden after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Ms. Haley, a Republican presidential contender and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under President Donald J. Trump, argued that the document was another example of foreign adversaries using social media to spread anti-American propaganda to young people.
“Stop giving the Chinese Communist Party the ability to influence Americans,” she wrote Thursday on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, using the hashtag #BanTikTok.
In an appearance the same day on the “Guy Benson Show” on Fox News Radio, Ms. Haley blamed the app for sowing sympathies for Hamas on some college campuses and stoking anti-American views.
“I have long said that we have to ban TikTok, and if you didn’t know why, there’s another example today,” she said, referencing the circulation of the letter on the platform…
image…Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios