Facebook reportedly paid Republican firm to propagate anti-TikTok campaign

Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: FB) has reportedly hired a Republican consulting firm to propagate false information through media outlets undermining its rival TikTok.

Multiple internal emails acquired by the Washington Post showed that Meta is paying the GOP-linked firm Targeted Victory to shift public opinion about the short video sharing app and tag the company as dangerous and “the real threat.”

The campaign reportedly includes op-eds and letters to the editor in major regional news outlets, “promoting dubious stories” about TikTok spreading certain harmful trends while they originated from Facebook.

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The report said that the news were pushed to reporters to draw the attention of local politicians, helping them to lobby against TikTok, the fast-growing app owned by the Beijing-based company ByteDance, as a danger to American children and society.

TikTok, which boasts more than 1 billion monthly active users, competes against Meta worldwide and forced Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to launch Instagram reels similar short video sharing service, in 2020.

Anti-TikTok campaign

Targeted Victory reportedly attributed harmful, teen-targeted social media challenges to TikTok, such as “devious licks,” which showed students vandalizing school property.

However, according to an investigation by Anna Foley at the podcast network Gimlet, rumors of the challenge initially spread on Facebook, not TikTok.

In October, the consulting firm pushed local news to cover a purported “slap a teacher” TikTok challenge, the report said, but the challenge didn’t exist on the app.

“We are deeply concerned that the stoking of local media reports on alleged trends that have not been found on the platform could cause real-world harm,” TikTok said in a statement. 

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Facebook previously worked with Targeted Victory on its Community Boast roadshow and ad transparency efforts. On Wednesday, Targeted Victory CEO Zac Moffatt said the firm has worked with Meta for years.

“It is public knowledge we have worked with Meta for several years, and we are proud of our work,” Moffatt said.

Lawmakers have accused both TikTok and Meta of endangering children’s welfare.

In August, TikTok bulked up its safety features for teen users. Earlier this month, Meta announced new parental controls for Instagram.

A Meta spokesperson said the company “believes all platforms, including TikTok, should face a level of scrutiny consistent with their growing success.”

Picture Credit: Ars Technica