The villainous tale of TikTok’s farewell and return
TikTok has been a globally beloved platform that has opened up conversations, incited change, and allowed personal expression, but recent changes for American users bring up questions about whether it can still be utilized as such.
On January 18, TikTok was suspended in the United States, accompanied by a message:
“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”
After about 12 hours, a second message appeared: “Thank you for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.”
Before the ban, TikTok CEO Shou Chew posted a video claiming that he had communicated with Trump, who was trying to save TikTok for America. How kind and convenient of him, considering he kickstarted the ban in the first place.
The obvious reaction is to cry propaganda, and you’re not wrong. Yes, in part, Trump’s “saving” of TikTok is a way to appeal to the public and make himself more palatable. But the situation is significantly more nefarious than that.
Since its reinstatement, American TikTok users have reported drastic changes: searches for “democrat” are blocked, videos are removed minutes after posting, and Trump critics’ accounts are banned. This goes beyond typical censorship. As more people scramble to find Trump’s speech where he supposedly claimed to have rigged elections, or debate whether Musk’s hand gesture was a Nazi salute, their attention is being pulled away from the slough of terrifying executive orders that Trump has been signing at much the same rate as a heavy smoker goes through cigarettes.
Within his first week in office, Trump has ordered a communication blackout for federal health agencies, revoked the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1965, instructed the Department of Labour to cease promoting diversity and enforcing affirmative action in federal hiring practices, and renewed the federal death penalty. However, these actions are overshadowed by the meme-ification of Trump not understanding how biology works, regardless of his discomfiting obsession over what’s in between people’s legs. So not only is Trump a truly terrible person, but he’s utilizing it to get away with what can only be called nefarious schemes.
Congratulations, America, you’ve voted in a comic supervillain. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
The socio-political playing field is seeing a rapid and radical shift, leaving everyone to deal with the fallout. But among the bombardment of information and the many attempts to control the narratives, certain contemplations still shine through.
For years, America has pointed its fingers at the Global South and the Middle East as threats to liberal democracy, finding whatever means necessary to justify the social, economic, and physical violence inflicted on them. Yet, the real threat comes from within.
TikTok is just one example of how left-leaning social spaces are manipulated to control information and action. And what else do you call the obvious attempts at narrative control, the information bombardment as a means of distraction, and straight-up Nazi salutes other than the clear symptoms of—as Joe Biden himself has phrased it—a clear threat to democracy.
We must all remember that America was born through the forced exertion of manifest destiny, white supremacy, and the oppression of all ideologies, cultures, and people that did not suit their aesthetics. And what is the Trump administration, if not those very philosophies in slightly different packaging? In the end, whatever is happening with TikTok is just another power play to assuage the egos and insecurities of the American government and suppress American citizens. Like all forms of censorship, it will fail.
