Chinese government asked TikTok for stealth propaganda account

TikTok has rules against “coordinated inauthentic behaviour”, where accounts conceal their true identity to exert influence or sway public opinion, and against political advertising, the spokeswoman said. — AFP

A Chinese government entity responsible for public relations attempted to open a stealth account on TikTok targeting Western audiences with propaganda, according to internal messages seen by Bloomberg.

The attempt, which met with push-back from TikTok executives, highlights the internal tensions within the fast-growing social media app, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance Inc, which has constantly attempted to distance itself from Chinese state influence.