Hey there, folks! Have we got a story for you. Apparently, TikTok and a political consulting firm that’s tied to the Biden administration have gone their separate ways. Yup, it’s the end of an era. We got wind of it from a person who spoke on the condition of anonymity (oooh, spooky) and apparently, TikTok is feeling a bit lonely now that one of their main allies in Washington has flown the coop.
So, the political consulting firm is called SKDK and they’d previously worked with Joe Biden’s election campaign. But, like most relationships these days, it’s all about what you can do for me lately. SKDK recently finished up a project with TikTok where they brought in digital influencers to Capitol Hill to try and get lawmakers on TikTok’s side. Apparently, that ended up being the last hurrah for the consulting firm and TikTok. Sad!
You probably already know that TikTok’s been under fire lately due to alleged security risks that could be exposing user data to the Chinese government. And let’s be real, no one wants the Chinese government up in their business. TikTok figured they needed all the help they could get, so they tapped SKDK to join the team ahead of a congressional hearing. That’s pretty normal in business, right? What’s not normal is when you enlist a swarm of digital creators to push back against a ban in Congress. That’s some serious hutzpah, TikTok.
The creators themselves have spilled the beans to some little tabloid called Politico. They claimed that TikTok paid for their flights and lodging, but didn’t directly compensate them. Hmmm, seems kind of cheap for a company that’s worth billions, doesn’t it? Anyway, TikTok spokesperson Alex Haurek confirmed that they’re no longer working with SKDK and that the social media giant paid for creators’ travel and lodging expenses. Apparently, SKDK didn’t have anything to say about the matter. Hmm, interesting.
So, SKDK is pretty influential in the world of democratic communications firms. They’ve got ties to current and former Biden aides, including Anita Dunn who’s a senior adviser in the White House. SKDK has reportedly worked with democrats on various progressive issues so they’re not exactly strangers to the scene. But, by aligning with TikTok, they risk backlash from conservatives who think that Democrats are just defending TikTok because it’s popular amongst younger voters. Oh, and apparently Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida isn’t a fan of Joe Biden’s love of TikTok either. Rough stuff.
Like all good businesses, TikTok has tapped a bunch of lobbyists and consultants to try and get them out of this sticky situation. But, in a surprise twist, they’ve been shut out of some of the tech industry groups that its peers are part of. According to Jeff Hauser from the Revolving Door Project, TikTok’s been growing so fast that they haven’t had time to make the right connections. It’s a classic case of having too many friends and not enough time to make meaningful relationships.
In other tech news, apparently fake Russian social accounts that spread online disinformation have a success rate of just 1 percent of the time. Wow, those pesky Russians really need to up their game. Also, lawmakers in Montana are trying to ban TikTok in the entire state. Yup, you heard that right. In some good news for rabbits everywhere, a Twitter account that posts pictures of bunnies got suspended for a hot minute. But don’t worry, they’re back to posting pics of fluffy little bunnies. What more could you want in life?
Serious News: washingtonpost
