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Chief of US Intelligence alleges China manipulated TikTok to sway US electorate
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, or ODNI, alleges that China or its nationals exploited TikTok to not only meddle in the presidential elections, but also to shift public sentiment regarding China's assertiveness.
The US intelligence agencies have raised an alarm indicating that the Chinese government used the widely-used video-sharing app TikTok to sway recent US elections. This information was disclosed in their yearly threat evaluation published on Monday.
The Office that manages the US's 18 intelligence agencies, known as the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), releases a yearly report outlining significant risks to the nation's international interests. It alleges that TikTok, supported by ByteDance, has been manipulating eligible voters to deter them from participating in group voting.
The importance of this alert is highlighted as it happens in a year of elections, as the House of Representatives prepares to vote on a bill designed to force ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, to relinquish its share in the platform. If they fail to adhere, TikTok risks being removed from app stores in the US.
The driving force behind this proposed law is the worries around national safety, tied to the possibility of the Chinese government gaining access to US user information via TikTok, along with its capacity to run propaganda operations through the platform.
The report from this year suggests that TikTok profiles, supposedly managed by a Chinese information manipulation agency, aimed at candidates from both sides of the political aisle during the 2022 US midterm elections. The report further warned that China could potentially try to sway the 2024 US elections in order to silence those critical of China and to deepen societal rifts within the United States.
It isn't the inaugural instance of someone from the US blaming China or Russia for meddling in their polls. It's believed that China has advanced abilities to execute large-scale undercover influence campaigns and spread misinformation.
Besides influencing elections, China is also making efforts to mold US public opinion concerning its territorial claims and sovereignty, specifically over areas it asserts control over, such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tibet, and Xinjiang.
The report further emphasizes how China keeps tabs on its students studying overseas for contrasting opinions and its impact on studies done by American scholars and experts from think tanks.
The report cautions that the global structure is becoming progressively unstable, under pressure from nations like China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. This instability is further amplified by regional disputes, groundbreaking technologies, and the financial repercussions of climate change.
This highlights the continual rivalry between autocratic and democratic regimes, which has obstructed cooperative methods to tackle worldwide concerns like global warming. Furthermore, rising technologies like artificial intelligence and biotechnology are predicted to intensify this rivalry.
A representative from TikTok responded to the accusations by stating that the platform consistently works to combat misleading actions such as hidden influence networks. They also mentioned that they have put in place measures to protect their community during global elections.
(Incorporating information from various sources)
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