Facebook’s parent company Meta would hire a consulting firm to run a smear and smear campaign against Chinese platform TikTok.

According to the complaint published by ‘The Washington Post’, Meta paid the Republican consulting firm Targeted Victory, founded in 2012 by Zac Moffart, who led the digital division of candidate Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign in the United States.

The ‘Washington Post’ learned of emails sent by the consultant to advance a campaign in which TikTok was identified as a threat to minors in the US.

According to the newspaper in question, the e-mailing started in February when Facebook realized that it was losing users on the social network for the first time in 18 years.

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What was the strategy? ‘Washington Post’ denounces consulting firm Aims Victory It aimed to spread the message that TikTok poses a danger to youth and American society.

“As a #1 foreigner app for data sharing, especially used by young teens, TikTok needs to convey the message that it’s the real threat,” the consulting director said in one of the emails.

To achieve this, Targeted Victory sent stories to local organizations trying to associate TikTok with dangerous trends and challenges for teens. The company even created a document with all the news, stating that the video platform is responsible for these trends.

According to the aforementioned newspaper, they have come to attribute various trends to the Chinese platform, some even popping up on Facebook.

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However, they also sent texts to the editorial department of several newspapers in which alleged parents said they were concerned about their children being on a platform like TikTok.

One of the letters was published in the ‘Denver Post’. There, the father stated that TikTok is harmful to the health of minors and made sure that the privacy of the data was breached on the Chinese platform.

A quote from the letter said, “Many people think that China is deliberately collecting behavioral data on our children,” according to the Washington Post.

Targeted Victory mixed genuine concerns with “groundless concerns to question the app,” according to the newspaper that complained.

“An email describing the recent negative TikTok stories, many of which has stirred reasonable questions about TikTok’s ownership and corporate practices, more exaggerated stories showing young users misbehaving themselves, a kind of panic on social networks. social media,” said the Washington Post.

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But the company hired by Meta, in addition to its actions to disqualify TikTok, was also working to advance a campaign that would get Facebook good media coverage.

Regarding the complaints, the Meta spokesperson defended the campaign and stated that digital platforms should be subject to high scrutiny, while he was concerned about the spread of false trends that were not circulating on the TikTok platform.

The truth is, this isn’t the first time Facebook and its now parent company Meta have used advisors to improve their positions in the media and society.

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Source: Exame

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