Open Menu
AllLocalCommunitiesAbout
lotide
AllLocalCommunitiesAbout
Login

TikTok To Be Sold To Trump’s Right Wing Billionaire Buddies And Converted Into A Propaganda Mill

⁨844⁩ ⁨likes⁩

Submitted ⁨⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨vegeta@lemmy.world⁩ to ⁨technology@lemmy.world⁩

https://www.techdirt.com/2025/09/17/tiktok-to-be-sold-to-trumps-right-wing-billionaire-buddies-and-converted-into-a-propaganda-mill/

source

Comments

Sort:hotnewtop
  • MuskyMelon@lemmy.world ⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    TikTok US to be rebranded as LikKok

    source
    • billwashere@lemmy.world ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Damn you … I shot coffee out my nose with that. 😂

      source
      • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        Burn baby burn!

        source
    • FreeBooteR69@lemmy.ca ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Comes in flavours, likkok orange, and likkok red.

      source
  • henfredemars@infosec.pub ⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Is it not already a propaganda mill by convention? I assumed that was part of the deal to continue operating.

    source
    • ook@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Yeah but… not the right propaganda!

      source
      • HonoraryMancunian@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        right propaganda

        Well…

        source
    • technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Before it was a vague sinophobic conspiracy theory pushed by big tech and other fascists… now it’s a reality.

      source
      • yucandu@lemmy.world ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        The only time I ever hear the term “sinophobic”, it’s someone using it to hand-wave away criticisms of the Chinese government.

        Sort of like “anti-semitic” and criticisms of Israel.

        source
        • -> View More Comments
    • Sir_Kevin@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨11⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Yeah I thought this deal happened months ago. I guess now they’re being public about it.

      source
  • yogurt@lemmy.world ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    US media fell for it again award. This is how Trump always negotiates he announces a “deal” that’s actually just his initial offer and then calls up whoever it is and begs them to play along and not embarrass him because he already announced it, which works on NYC construction contractors but Xi doesn’t give a shit.

    source
    • jcs@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Like the backpedaling of Trump’s T1 phone to initially be claimed as “Made in America” until being publicly called out, not only by inquisitive people but also by a company furthest along in producing a fully “Made in USA” phone. The T1 phone marketing has been relegated to featuring a “proudly American” design.

      Sources

      - USA Today: Trump Mobile reiterates claims that new phones are ‘made in America’ - Bloomberg: US-Made Smartphones Cheaper Than Some Claim: Purism CEO

      source
    • kameecoding@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Kind of sad that you have to root for a fascist dictator prick to keep the fascist wannabe dictator prick in check.

      source
      • Tja@programming.dev ⁨28⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago

        Well, we root for the more rational and predictable dictator.

        source
    • other_cat@lemmy.zip ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Thanks for posting that. I was looking for confirmation or debunk and this adds some clarity.

      source
  • Guidy@lemmy.world ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    It was already a propaganda mill. Now it will be for the Nazis instead of China.

    source
    • Deflated0ne@lemmy.world ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Oh it’s been working for GovCo and Israel since it came back from the 1 day ban and Shou started licking Chumps ass. The change was immediate and noticeable.

      source
      • Fergie434@lemmy.world ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        Yup every top comment on TikTok now is almost always the most divisive shit. I assume they’re doing the equivalent of reddits “sort by controversial”. It changed as soon as it came back.

        source
      • Hector@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        Of course it was about Israel

        source
    • Smith6612@lemmy.world ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      It will actually be for both! Emphasis on the part of the article where it says China will still have a stake of 20% in the company, AND they get to keep the algorithm.

      All the US is doing is buying up physical assets and infrastructure, and the user base. The juicy bits they wanted, they didn’t get. Everyone is likely going to jump off of TikTok the moment it comes time to segment the US market from the Rest of the World. China doesn’t have to do a thing because Douyin is already maintained separately for the Chinese market.

      source
      • Furbag@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        The thing that will kill this is forcing users to migrate to a new app. Removing the largest friction barrier that prevents people from leaving your app by forcing them to cross it is a great way to scatter the TikTok userbase to the four winds.

        I hope this kills TikTok, and that the people who enjoyed using it remember who was responsible for it.

        source
      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        China doesn’t have to do a thing because Douyin is already maintained separately for the Chinese market.

        Nobody really wanted to grapple with the reality. They just saw “Chinese investors mean Communist propaganda means Americans most be protected from the thing”. Then Cold War brainrot kicked in and that was that.

        A country that fumbles this hard doesn’t deserve to exist.

        source
        • -> View More Comments
    • kameecoding@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Now it will be for the US fascists instead of chinese fascists, Nazis were german.

      source
    • yucandu@lemmy.world ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Let’s be real. They’re all working together.

      source
    • technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Now it will be overt instead of a vague conspiracy.

      source
  • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Don’t worry.

    The Dems are just about to write a sternly-worded letter.

    source
    • Tja@programming.dev ⁨26⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago

      Voters made sure they can’t do anything else.

      source
    • JoeyJoeJoeJr@lemmy.ml ⁨11⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      *An official letter, signed by at least three colleagues.

      source
    • BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Schmuck Schumer is hard at work, editing his last one, so we don’t think it’s the same one.

      Jokes on him, nobody is paying any attention to him anyway. He could give the same speech every time, and nobody would even notice.

      What a loser. If we aren’t going to kick him out, just ignore him, and let him get back to his insider trading. That’s his only priority anyway. He might as well be a MAGA.

      source
      • Synthuir@programming.dev ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        Yep.

        source
        • -> View More Comments
    • ICastFist@programming.dev ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      And they will even threaten to wag their fingers!

      source
    • mfed1122@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨11⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      If we’re lucky they’ll do something that speaks to the youth, like doing Tiktok dances in protest

      source
      • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        One can only hope, friend.

        source
  • doeinthewoods@lemmy.zip ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    rollingstone.com/…/lawmakers-tiktok-ban-pro-pales…

    Always remember

    source
  • LoafedBurrito@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    This is your reminder that tiktok has always been brain rot and you need to delete your account and app.

    The fact it was bought by Nazi’s to spread their propaganda is just one more reason for people to delete the app and give them the least amount of views possible.

    I would love to start a petition to ban tiktok in states once they turn it into GestapoTok. I mean the right is all about states rights right?

    source
    • mlg@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Yeah but uncensored brainrot is still better than propaganda brainrot.

      One of the reasons tiktok became so popular is that it didn’t go around banning entire swaths of content under the guise of “healthy content” like Facebook (Insta), X, and Reddit do.

      This isn’t even a Trump issue specifically, Biden wanted TIkTok to do the same. Either follow policy demands or sell to an American owner.

      source
      • zalgotext@sh.itjust.works ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        In what fantasyland is Tiktok uncensored? Tiktok is the whole reason we get screenshots where words like sex, kill, dead, gun, assault, rape, and every swear word imaginable are censored. Tiktok is the reason for euphemisms like “seggs” (sex) and “grape” (rape). There was a time when food content struggled on Tiktok because you’d get shadow banned for having a knife in your video.

        source
        • -> View More Comments
      • Duamerthrax@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        It’s always been propaganda brainrot. The CCP was just more subtle about it by suppressing content that was critical of them, suppressing content by “ugly” people, and quietly siphoning all of your data.

        And no, that’s not en endorsement of any alternative. They’ll all bad. That just all have different bias.

        source
      • Hector@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        Half the reason it was banned was because they would not put the fix in against Israel criticism. For some reason the video footage of our lawmakers having sex with underage kids has led them to have an Israel first policy.

        source
  • ThePantser@sh.itjust.works ⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Young people decide what’s popular, if you fuck it up they will bail for another platform. Hopefully someone spins up a competitor quickly to grab the people in between the forced “new app”

    source
    • akilou@sh.itjust.works ⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Dude Facebook hasn’t been cool in a decade and it’s still very much a thing

      source
      • Zephorah@discuss.online ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        It’s alive due to Messenger and Marketplace.

        source
        • -> View More Comments
      • thisbenzingring@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        wait until the boomer generation stops using it…

        source
        • -> View More Comments
      • Monument@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨13⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        I just had this funny thought— so boomers adopted and settled into Facebook after millennials made it popular. And then everyone except for boomers stopped actively using it. It’s kind of their “retirement social media platform.”
        Now you have TikTok, which the millennials flocked to after GenZ popularized it. Does this mean after Gen Z flees the platform that it’s just going to be the Facebook equivalent for millennials?

        source
        • -> View More Comments
      • HazardousBanjo@lemmy.world ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        I’d be genuinely curious what the real age demographic of regular Facebook users is in America, but I highly doubt Meta would ever release those figures.

        Doubt they can even sort out who is and isn’t a not, themselves

        source
    • crunchy@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      You’re underestimating the propaganda machine . All those right-wing influencers didn’t get to the top of every chart because young people decided them to be popular.

      source
      • HazardousBanjo@lemmy.world ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        Susan Wojiciki genuinely spearheaded the rise of the far right on social media by giving endless support and exposure to the likes of the Paul brothers, Mr.Beast, and right wing commentators who regularly broke ToS but rarely if ever got banned or demonitized for it.

        She truly was the Ronald Reagan of social media personalities. May she burn in Hell.

        source
    • technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Hopefully someone spins up a competitor

      Done and done.

      • pixelfed.social
      • loops.video
      source
    • spongebue@lemmy.world ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      You have to use words like “unalive” and it’s still popular?

      source
    • _spiffy@lemmy.ca ⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Wouldn’t it be cool if people used loops instead!

      source
    • tabarnaski@sh.itjust.works ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      “you sweet, summer child”

      source
    • kibiz0r@midwest.social ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      if you fuck it up they will bail for another platform

      They might also start using another platform. But they’re unlikely to leave completely.

      Cory Doctorow put out the first hour of the audiobook on Enshittification for free, and it covers this very well.

      source
    • fluxion@lemmy.world ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      True for us 1%ers, nobody else seems to give a fuck.

      source
  • commander@lemmy.world ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Shout-out to every dumbass that thought just because that bill to give the president to unilaterally designate companies as foreign companies national security threats and ban them was being passed during a democratic party Presidency, that meant the ACLU and EFF were wrong and this was actually a good thing. The most popular easily abusable legislation of the past ten years.

    Don’t support government powers that you wouldn’t want your opposition to possess. They will be in power someday, bet on that no matter what. Especially stupid stupid after 2020 Portland federal law enforcement disappearing people it should have been clear that the powers of the executive should have been limited before it was going to inevitably be in the power of opposition again but nope, Tiktok bad because China makes us feel insecure.

    Stupid bill and stupid people that were, I know ACLU and EFF are against it but TikTok needs to be banned, dumbasses - a bill can be written that targets a single company rather than a blanket power to block out any company from that selection of countries. Of course now that it is law, a willing congress - an inevitability - can remove the country specifics or add any and for some reason dumbasses after 2020 were like - it won’t be abused

    source
    • Hector@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      And the reason the Democrats and Republicans wanted to kill Tick Tock was Israel. Because we have an Israel first policy just because they have video footage of our lawmakers having sex with kids and their business Pals as well.

      source
  • percent@infosec.pub ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    I remember when Rupert Murdoch’s company bought Myspace. Maybe US TikTok will see the same fate

    source
    • Hector@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      It will lose its luster when there is a noticeable political slant.

      source
    • GenosseFlosse@feddit.org ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Ok, but didn’t they buy Myspace when it was already getting less popular and a lot of people had switched to Facebook?

      source
  • Yerbouti@sh.itjust.works ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    If I was in the USA, I would be ready to run real quick. The crackdown on the left is just beginning, get ready for massive surveillance, fully controlled media, reeducation camps, etc. GAFAM are all bending to the dictator. It’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when and how.

    source
    • technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      The crackdown on the left is just beginning

      lol bruh they erased the left like 80 years ago.

      source
      • Yerbouti@sh.itjust.works ⁨13⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        IDK, what’s happening now has nothing to do with the usual capitalist propaganda and brainwashing of the past decades. I agree most of the west hasn’t seen any real left govern states since the end of the 70s, but at then pace things are going and unless something huge happens, I guarantee you will soon look at the past years as some decent times

        source
  • surph_ninja@lemmy.world ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    TikTok has been faithfully pushing US propaganda for years. Mintpress News put out an article on it. Control of the US servers was handed over to Oracle, who let the State Dept have full control of what to censor.

    source
  • jobbies@lemmy.zip ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    I would make a joke if this wasn’t deeply, deeply worrying.

    This is how the Nazis solidify support in genZ and genAlpha.

    America is fucked.

    source
  • Arcane2077@sh.itjust.works ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    …More explicitly than after the first ban

    source
  • betanumerus@lemmy.ca ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    TikTok? I haven’t even seen a pendulum clock in decades.

    source
  • ilinamorato@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Trump insiders claim

    Suuuuuuure. I’ll believe it when I…actually probably never.

    source
  • Marshezezz@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Isn’t it already a propaganda mill?

    source
  • technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    When the state is worried about “foreign” surveillance, propaganda, etc., it’s really just worried that it’s not doing the surveillance, propaganda, etc.

    source
  • brown567@sh.itjust.works ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Ooh! Who gets to be Goebbels?

    source
  • Deflated0ne@lemmy.world ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Gonna be sold to Oracle. Which means sold to the CIA.

    source
  • Hector@lemmy.world ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    It will be a shadow of his former self being run by these hacks. There are two greedy and short-sighted to run a growing platform.

    source
  • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    My guess is only ~15% of people using TikTok will quit, because of this.

    Drugs are bad kids, m’kay?

    source
  • NotSteve_@piefed.ca ⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    How does this work for countries outside of the US? Will Canadian and European TikTok get the propaganda too or will the US version be self contained?

    source
  • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    See ya all on RedNote, I guess.

    source
  • Zephorah@discuss.online ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Red Note. You can say what you like about the USA, but you can’t criticize China or show skin.

    source
  • humanspiral@lemmy.ca ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Trump’s Right Wing Billionaire Buddies

    Zionist supremacist oligarchs who are heavily involved in election financing in cooperation with Israel Lobby that directly manages loyalty oaths to Israel from every Federally elected official. Zionists supremacists shifted heavily to Trump this cycle, with DNC funding paying them to lose for the most Zionist supremacist election outcome.

    Media bending over backwards to not call it what it is, is clear and direct result of bipartisan submission to ZIonist supremacism.

    Proof that this purchase is entirely to enforce Zionist supremacism, is that this group will overpay with licensing fees in order to add their layer of censorship on opposition to genocide, and humanizing people resisting genocide and supremacism. The buyers don’t care about making money from purchase, and will be proven by deal structure.

    As backdrop on Larry Ellison, his wealth grew over $100B last week on the most fraudulent BS in the history of finance. …yahoo.com/…/why-openai-300-billion-deal-15081537…

    Open AI, who loses money on $10B in annual revenue, has promised (non binding) Oracle $60B/year for GPU/datacenter services for next 5 years. Oracle has yet to even think about how it would fulfill this revenue, and Open AI has no way whatsoever of paying for it.

    Should you short Oracle in the face of this? Of course not! Zionist supremacist oligarchs in the US are the chosen people.

    source
  • crystalmerchant@lemmy.world ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Converted, huh. It’s not already there?

    source