this post was submitted on 19 Sep 2025
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[–] MuskyMelon@lemmy.world 289 points 5 days ago (2 children)

TikTok US to be rebranded as LikKok

[–] billwashere@lemmy.world 41 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Damn you … I shot coffee out my nose with that. 😂

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[–] Tigeroovy@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 days ago

So it'll be the same but maybe a little more america based?

[–] henfredemars@infosec.pub 176 points 5 days ago (11 children)

Is it not already a propaganda mill by convention? I assumed that was part of the deal to continue operating.

[–] ook@discuss.tchncs.de 87 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Yeah but... not the right propaganda!

[–] HonoraryMancunian@lemmy.world 20 points 5 days ago

right propaganda

Well...

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[–] yogurt@lemmy.world 72 points 5 days ago (5 children)

US media fell for it again award. This is how Trump always negotiates he announces a "deal" that's actually just his initial offer and then calls up whoever it is and begs them to play along and not embarrass him because he already announced it, which works on NYC construction contractors but Xi doesn't give a shit.

[–] jcs@lemmy.world 18 points 5 days ago

Like the backpedaling of Trump's T1 phone to initially be claimed as "Made in America" until being publicly called out, not only by inquisitive people but also by a company furthest along in producing a fully "Made in USA" phone. The T1 phone marketing has been relegated to featuring a "proudly American" design.

Sources

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[–] ThePantser@sh.itjust.works 102 points 5 days ago (10 children)

Young people decide what's popular, if you fuck it up they will bail for another platform. Hopefully someone spins up a competitor quickly to grab the people in between the forced "new app"

[–] akilou@sh.itjust.works 133 points 5 days ago (8 children)

Dude Facebook hasn't been cool in a decade and it's still very much a thing

[–] Zephorah@discuss.online 27 points 5 days ago (1 children)

It’s alive due to Messenger and Marketplace.

[–] presbypenguin@reddthat.com 17 points 5 days ago (6 children)
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[–] thisbenzingring@lemmy.sdf.org 26 points 5 days ago (7 children)

wait until the boomer generation stops using it...

[–] HarkMahlberg@kbin.earth 54 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I've been waiting for the boomer generation to stop any of what they're doing for 30 years. I suspect they'll still be a viable political bloc for the next 20 years. And even then, gen x and gen z will pick up right where they left off.

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[–] crunchy@lemmy.dbzer0.com 74 points 5 days ago (1 children)

You're underestimating the propaganda machine . All those right-wing influencers didn't get to the top of every chart because young people decided them to be popular.

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[–] ceiphas@feddit.org 28 points 4 days ago (3 children)

"Converted into a Propaganda mill" my ass... What is it now if not a Propaganda mill

[–] tempest@lemmy.ca 8 points 4 days ago

It's currently a propaganda refinery.

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[–] Guidy@lemmy.world 83 points 5 days ago (5 children)

It was already a propaganda mill. Now it will be for the Nazis instead of China.

[–] Deflated0ne@lemmy.world 40 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (2 children)

Oh it's been working for GovCo and Israel since it came back from the 1 day ban and Chou started licking Chumps ass. The change was immediate and noticeable.

[–] Fergie434@lemmy.world 15 points 5 days ago

Yup every top comment on TikTok now is almost always the most divisive shit. I assume they’re doing the equivalent of reddits “sort by controversial”. It changed as soon as it came back.

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[–] Smith6612@lemmy.world 26 points 5 days ago (5 children)

It will actually be for both! Emphasis on the part of the article where it says China will still have a stake of 20% in the company, AND they get to keep the algorithm.

All the US is doing is buying up physical assets and infrastructure, and the user base. The juicy bits they wanted, they didn't get. Everyone is likely going to jump off of TikTok the moment it comes time to segment the US market from the Rest of the World. China doesn't have to do a thing because Douyin is already maintained separately for the Chinese market.

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[–] FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 74 points 5 days ago (10 children)

Don't worry.

The Dems are just about to write a sternly-worded letter.

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[–] minorkeys@lemmy.world 10 points 4 days ago

It keeps going until we stop it folks. The adults are no longer in the room.

[–] LoafedBurrito@lemmy.world 54 points 5 days ago (8 children)

This is your reminder that tiktok has always been brain rot and you need to delete your account and app.

The fact it was bought by Nazi's to spread their propaganda is just one more reason for people to delete the app and give them the least amount of views possible.

I would love to start a petition to ban tiktok in states once they turn it into GestapoTok. I mean the right is all about states rights right?

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[–] commander@lemmy.world 48 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Shout-out to every dumbass that thought just because that bill to give the president to unilaterally designate companies as foreign companies national security threats and ban them was being passed during a democratic party Presidency, that meant the ACLU and EFF were wrong and this was actually a good thing. The most popular easily abusable legislation of the past ten years.

Don't support government powers that you wouldn't want your opposition to possess. They will be in power someday, bet on that no matter what. Especially stupid stupid after 2020 Portland federal law enforcement disappearing people it should have been clear that the powers of the executive should have been limited before it was going to inevitably be in the power of opposition again but nope, Tiktok bad because China makes us feel insecure.

Stupid bill and stupid people that were, I know ACLU and EFF are against it but TikTok needs to be banned, dumbasses - a bill can be written that targets a single company rather than a blanket power to block out any company from that selection of countries. Of course now that it is law, a willing congress - an inevitability - can remove the country specifics or add any and for some reason dumbasses after 2020 were like - it won't be abused

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[–] surph_ninja@lemmy.world 55 points 5 days ago

TikTok has been faithfully pushing US propaganda for years. Mintpress News put out an article on it. Control of the US servers was handed over to Oracle, who let the State Dept have full control of what to censor.

[–] doeinthewoods@lemmy.zip 34 points 5 days ago (1 children)
[–] IndustryStandard@lemmy.world 9 points 4 days ago (1 children)

It is being sold to Larry Ellison, one of the biggest donors to Israel. So you bet TikTok is going to be filled with IDF thirst trap propaganda soon.

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[–] Yerbouti@sh.itjust.works 51 points 5 days ago (7 children)

If I was in the USA, I would be ready to run real quick. The crackdown on the left is just beginning, get ready for massive surveillance, fully controlled media, reeducation camps, etc. GAFAM are all bending to the dictator. It's not a question of if, it's a question of when and how.

[–] technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 44 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

The crackdown on the left is just beginning

lol bruh the state erased the left like 80 years ago.

[–] Yerbouti@sh.itjust.works 15 points 5 days ago

IDK, what's happening now has nothing to do with the usual capitalist propaganda and brainwashing of the past decades. I agree most of the west hasn't seen any real left govern states since the end of the 70s, but at then pace things are going and unless something huge happens, I guarantee you will soon look at the past years as some decent times

[–] timmy_dean_sausage@lemmy.world 23 points 5 days ago (1 children)

A lot of us are too poor to get out. Don't think Canada is taking political refugees just yet :/

[–] Yerbouti@sh.itjust.works 31 points 5 days ago

I'm Canadian and I don't feel safe either. It's a new era of global fascism and surveillance, most of us wont be safe anywhere. Call me paranoid, but I'm already working on a escape and I wont ever disclose details online. Crazy times.

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[–] Arcane2077@sh.itjust.works 51 points 5 days ago (1 children)

…More explicitly than after the first ban

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[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 16 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Gen z and younger are consumers of tiktok. It's important for conservative parties to shore up their future bases. We already saw effective other platforms were

[–] jobbies@lemmy.zip 27 points 5 days ago (2 children)

I would make a joke if this wasn't deeply, deeply worrying.

This is how the Nazis solidify support in genZ and genAlpha.

America is fucked.

[–] ThePrivacyPolicy@lemmy.ca 11 points 5 days ago (2 children)

A lot more than America becomes fucked when tiktok becomes owned by these guys. It'll become their global platform to radicalize youth Nazis from one corner of the globe to another. Time to hope the youth outside America are smart enough to see thorough this, but if our recent Canadian election was any indication then they are not.

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[–] blindbunny@lemmy.ml 6 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I can't wait to see zoomers burn down the Whitehouse

[–] bier@feddit.nl 3 points 3 days ago

What? I'm not sure how it is in the US but in many countries zoomers (men) are very right wing. These are the guys that watch rogan and Andrew Tate.

[–] percent@infosec.pub 24 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (3 children)

I remember when Rupert Murdoch's company, News Corporation, bought Myspace. Maybe US TikTok will see the same fate

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[–] Marshezezz@lemmy.blahaj.zone 23 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (3 children)

Isn’t it already a propaganda mill?

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[–] technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 18 points 5 days ago

When the state is worried about "foreign" surveillance, propaganda, etc., it's really just worried that it's not doing the surveillance, propaganda, etc.

[–] viking@infosec.pub 3 points 4 days ago

Nice, another of those shit platforms nobody needs is dead.

[–] Kalcifer@sh.itjust.works 3 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

TikTok To Be Sold To Trump’s Right Wing Billionaire Buddies And Converted Into A Propaganda Mill ^[1.1]^

The title feels misinformative to me given, the following from the article:

[…] Trump insiders claim to be zeroing in on a deal that would sell 80% of TikTok’s U.S. assets to […] ^[1.2]^

To me, the title infers that TikTok is being sold with certainty, whereas the content of the article sates that a deal has yet to even be reached.

References

  1. Type: Article. Title: "TikTok To Be Sold To Trump’s Right Wing Billionaire Buddies And Converted Into A Propaganda Mill". Published: 2025-09-17T10:50. Accessed: 2025-09-21T01:29Z. URI: https://www.techdirt.com/2025/09/17/tiktok-to-be-sold-to-trumps-right-wing-billionaire-buddies-and-converted-into-a-propaganda-mill/.
    1. Type: Text. Location: Title.

      TikTok To Be Sold To Trump’s Right Wing Billionaire Buddies And Converted Into A Propaganda Mill

    2. Type: Text. Location: ¶2.
[–] Deflated0ne@lemmy.world 13 points 5 days ago

Gonna be sold to Oracle. Which means sold to the CIA.

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