With the U.S. authorities pushing to successfully takeover TikTok within the nation, and probably affect the content material that’s displayed within the app, it’s price contemplating the rising affect of TikTok on political discourse, and the function that it now performs within the evolving info panorama.
And whereas which will look like a radical declare, that the U.S. authorities might search to affect what customers see within the app if the proposed U.S. takeover deal goes by means of, TikTok’s new U.S. possession group could be 100% handpicked by the federal government, and would have “algorithmic oversight,” amongst different controls.
And with U.S. President Donald Trump lately remarking that he would make TikTok “100% MAGA” if he might, that does look like a priority, and a degree of observe in assessing what TikTok would possibly turn into, if the proposed deal is a hit.
As a result of TikTok is rising as a information platform, particularly amongst youthful customers.
As you possibly can see on this chart, primarily based on information from Pew Analysis, round 20% of U.S. adults now frequently get information on TikTok, up from simply 3% in 2020.
And that development is much more pronounced amongst youthful audiences, with explicit relation to political info:
So TikTok’s affect is important, and rising, and as such, the suggestion that it might be manipulated by the federal government to probably sway political views is a priority.
In fact, that then comes all the way down to the algorithm, and the algorithmic controls that the platform’s U.S.-based administration group might need.
In keeping with studies, the TikTok U.S. group would primarily lease the platform’s algorithm from its Chinese language mother or father firm, then “retrain it” utilizing information from customers primarily based in the USA.
Retraining appears like this group may have some sway over what developments, and doesn’t, within the app. I imply, the Chinese language authorities positively has a degree of management over what beneficial properties traction within the Chinese language native model of TikTok (known as “Douyin”), so it appears fully possible {that a} U.S. group would additionally be capable of implement related weighting on what beneficial properties probably the most traction, and sees broader distribution within the app.
Which makes Trump’s remarks extra regarding.
Trump has additionally beforehand famous that TikTok helped him win the U.S. election, particularly with youthful voters.
As per Trump:
“You realize, I’ve a heat spot in my coronary heart for TikTok as a result of I received youth by 34 factors and there are those who say that TikTok has one thing to do with it.”
So Trump has a transparent understanding of the influence that the platform can have on this respect, whereas he’s additionally criticized social platforms for censoring his speech up to now, and even sued them over such actions.
As such, the specter of a MAGA takeover of the app is sensible, although Trump has stated that each one sides can be handled pretty underneath the proposed U.S. administration.
If the deal is authorised.
Notably, China nonetheless hasn’t commented on Trump’s newest TikTok takeover proposal, regardless of the White Home claiming that it’s just about a carried out deal. One of many maintain ups might probably be that the CCP is in search of extra concessions inside the deal, together with Trump’s help for China’s possession declare over Taiwan, which the U.S. has lengthy opposed, in help of Taiwan’s independence.
That an app which rose to fame by means of viral dances is now on the heart of geopolitical negotiations underlines the importance of social media within the broader panorama, and the worth that political leaders see in such from this angle.
It’s additionally notable that TikTok is seeing extra elimination authorities requests from numerous areas over time.
How will a U.S.-owned TikTok cope with such, and if the White Home has any degree of direct affect on the identical, how can it’s anticipated to handle overseas authorities requests in a good and equitable means? Granted, most of those requests relate to removals inside their respective borders, however some relate to broader removals and suppression efforts.
One other level of observe from TikTok’s information is the minimal presence of China in TikTok’s “Covert Affect Operations” detection listings.
That solely stands out as a result of China-based teams are probably the most important contributor to Google’s TAG report, which appears on the similar aspect. Evaluating the 2, TikTok lists that, in all of 2025, it’s detected a complete of two,076 accounts originating from China that had been discovered to be participating in affect operations within the app.
In Google’s most up-to-date TAG Bulletin, which it printed in July, it reported that it had terminated greater than 7,700 YouTube channels linked to coordinated affect operations run by Chinese language state actors between April and June alone.
Logically, you’d assume that if Chinese language affect operations had been seeking to sway Western customers, then TikTok could be a extra optimum vector for such, given the direct connection between TikTok and the CCP. However both YouTube is seen as a extra viable goal for such applications, or TikTok isn’t doing as nicely at catching them out.
All of this factors to the potential of TikTok as a political affect instrument, which can quickly be inside the grasp of the U.S. authorities.
And whereas Trump and his crew are working to reassure individuals about their method on this entrance, there’s a actual concern that the temptation to sway the algorithms of their favour might ultimately be an excessive amount of.
