What is TikTok?

TikTok is a social media platform (think Twitter or YouTube) where people post short videos they make themselves. They are often dance videos, but don’t have to be, and are often funny, but can be serious, too.

Two incidents this week catapulted TikTok over the generational barrier into the attention spans of older people.

One was a TikTok in which singer/songwriter Kirby criticized the racial symbolism of Aunt Jemima pancake mix, saying Black Lives Matter, even at breakfast. With millions of hits, it was credited with hastening the end of that brand.

Then, at the end of the week, a legion of TikTok users reportedly trolled President Donald Trump by sending fake RSVPs to his Tulsa campaign appearance, leading him to claim interest from 1 million people. On rally day, June 20, the event could not fill a 19,000-seat arena and canceled an outdoor event that was set up to accommodate overflow crowds.

In response, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gave a shoutout on Twitter to TikTok users and Zoomers and referenced race.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweet

Actually you just got ROCKED by teens on TikTok who flooded the Trump campaign w/ fake ticket reservations & tricked you into believing a million people wanted your white supremacist open mic enough to pack an arena during COVID

“100 Questions and Answers About African Americans” is available from Amazon or the Front Edge Publishing bookstore.

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