Mozilla Tiktok Tiktokzakrzewski Washingtonpost – “Mozilla, a nonprofit making the web an open and inclusive place, found more than a dozen influencers with undisclosed paid relationships to post political messages on TikTok. The discovery comes as TikTok bans political ads.”
On April 23rd Mozilla, a nonprofit making the web an open and inclusive place, discovered more than a dozen influencers with undisclosed paid relationships to post political messages on TikTok. The discovery comes shortly after TikTok banned all political advertisements within the app’s platform.
“We found a significant number of examples of influencers with undisclosed paid relationships to post political messages on TikTok,” said Mark Surman, Mozilla’s Executive Director. “Some of these actors included political parties, politicians and ‘regimes of concern.'” Mozilla is working with Beijing-based Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) in reporting this discovery to the Chinese government. CHRD will also submit Mozilla’s findings to the United States Congress.
“We have a responsibility as citizens of the Internet to protect our common values,” added Surman. “This is not just about freedom of expression, but about our rules of common decency and civic behavior.”
Influencers included in the report include:
Alex Liu, a top 15 influential Chinese TikTok influencer who has garnered more than 10 million followers on TikTok and over 39 million fans across all platforms. Alex’s paid relationships with advertisers included TikTok, Harry’s, FabFitFun and Shisa.
Liu Yang, a top 20 TikTok influencer with more than 9.3 million followers and over 133 million fans across all platforms. According to the report, Liu Yang’s paid relationships with advertisers included Shisa, Tripadvisor and E-Commerce sites.
Liu Yefu, a top 30 Chinese TikTok influencer with 4.8 million followers on TikTok and over 21 million fans across all platforms. According to the report, Liu Yefu’s paid relationships with advertisers included TikTok and E-Commerce sites.
Chen Fei, a top 30 Chinese TikTok influencer with over 4.3 million followers on TikTok and over 8.8 million fans across all platforms. According to the report, Chen Fei’s paid relationships with advertisers included TikTok, WeChat, Shisa and E-Commerce sites.
PeakyQuackTV, a top 50 Chinese TikTok influencer with 2.8 million followers on TikTok and over 5.1 million fans across all platforms. According to the report, PeakyQuackTV’s paid relationships with advertisers included TikTok and E-Commerce sites.
Tiger Chen, a top 50 Chinese TikTok influencer with 2.2 million followers on TikTok and over 4.7 million fans across all platforms. According to the report, Tiger Chen’s paid relationships with advertisers included TikTok and E-Commerce sites.
Dachuan Chen, a top 50 Chinese TikTok influencer with 888,000 followers on TikTok and over 2.6 million fans across all platforms. According to the report, Dachuan Chen’s paid relationships with advertisers included TikTok.
Mila Grinberg, a top 75 Chinese influencer with 486,000 fans on TikTok and over 2 million fans across all platforms. According to the report, Mila Grinberg’s paid relationships with advertisers included TikTok and E-Commerce sites.
“We are writing to express our deep concerns about revelations that Chinese state-owned broadcasters, as well as private companies, have been paying for influencers on TikTok to post political messages. The existence of these posts and payments represent a threat to the security, integrity and sovereignty of the United States,” wrote U.S. Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ), David Price (D-NC) and Gregory Meeks (D-NY) in a bipartisan letter addressed to China’s Ministry of Public Security.
“These forms of propaganda are a violation of China’s own laws, as well as the laws of the U.S. and our allies.” The letter identifies Alex Liu, Dachuan Chen and Liu Yang among other top TikTok influencers receiving payments from Chinese state media to post political messages on the platform. The letter also identifies accounts associated with China’s Ministry of Public Security, which recruited Chinese citizens to promote content in order to gain influence over American citizens.
