With the U.S. authorities pushing to successfully takeover TikTok within the nation, and doubtlessly affect the content material that’s displayed within the app, it’s price contemplating the rising affect of TikTok on political discourse, and the position that it now performs within the evolving info panorama.
And whereas which will look like a radical declare, that the U.S. authorities may search to affect what customers see within the app if the proposed U.S. takeover deal goes by way of, TikTok’s new U.S. possession group can be 100% handpicked by the federal government, and would have “algorithmic oversight,” amongst different controls.
And with U.S. President Donald Trump just lately remarking that he would make TikTok “100% MAGA” if he may, that does look like a priority, and a degree of observe in assessing what TikTok may change into, if the proposed deal is successful.
As a result of TikTok is rising as a information platform, particularly amongst youthful customers.
As you’ll be able to see on this chart, based mostly 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 pattern is much more pronounced amongst youthful audiences, with specific 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 doubtlessly sway political beliefs 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 accordance with studies, the TikTok U.S. group would basically lease the platform’s algorithm from its Chinese language guardian firm, then “retrain it” utilizing information from customers based mostly in america.
Retraining seems like this group may have some sway over what traits, and doesn’t, within the app. I imply, the Chinese language authorities positively has a degree of management over what features traction within the Chinese language native model of TikTok (referred to as “Douyin”), so it appears solely possible {that a} U.S. group would additionally have the ability to implement comparable weighting on what features 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 gained 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 impression that the platform can have on this respect, whereas he’s additionally criticized social platforms for censoring his speech prior to now, and even sued them over such actions.
As such, the specter of a MAGA takeover of the app is reasonable, although Trump has stated that every one sides will likely be handled pretty underneath the proposed U.S. administration.
If the deal is accepted.
Notably, China nonetheless hasn’t commented on Trump’s newest TikTok takeover proposal, regardless of the White Home claiming that it’s nearly a accomplished deal. One of many maintain ups may doubtlessly be that the CCP is on the lookout for extra concessions throughout the deal, together with Trump’s assist for China’s possession declare over Taiwan, which the U.S. has lengthy opposed, in assist of Taiwan’s independence.
That an app which rose to fame by way of viral dances is now on the middle of geopolitical negotiations underlines the importance of social media within the broader panorama, and the worth that political leaders see in such from this attitude.
It’s additionally notable that TikTok is seeing extra removing authorities requests from numerous areas over time.
How will a U.S.-owned TikTok take care of such, and if the White Home has any degree of direct affect on the identical, how can or not it’s anticipated to handle overseas authorities requests in a good and equitable method? 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 vital contributor to Google’s TAG report, which seems to be on the similar component. 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 partaking 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’ll assume that if Chinese language affect operations had been seeking to sway Western customers, then TikTok can be a extra optimum vector for such, given the direct connection between TikTok and the CCP. However both YouTube is considered 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 throughout the grasp of the U.S. authorities.
And whereas Trump and his group are working to reassure folks about their strategy on this entrance, there’s a actual concern that the temptation to sway the algorithms of their favour may finally be an excessive amount of.
