Facebook paid GOP firm to run campaign against TikTok

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Facebook hired a Republican consulting firm to run a campaign aimed at turning public sentiment against TikTok through op-eds and letters to the editor in regional news outlets and the promotion of stories about alleged TikTok trends that reportedly originated on Facebook, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

The campaign sought to portray the popular video sharing platform as a danger to American children and society, the Post reported, citing internal emails.

Operatives on the campaign were also encouraged to use TikTok’s popularity to deflect from antitrust and privacy concerns facing Meta.

"Bonus point if we can fit this into a broader message that the current bills/proposals aren’t where [state attorneys general] or members of Congress should be focused,” wrote a staffer for Targeted Victory, the consulting firm, according to the report"

In response to the report, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said, “We believe all platforms, including TikTok, should face a level of scrutiny consistent with their growing success.”

Targeted Victory CEO Zac Moffatt said in a statement that the firm’s “corporate practice manages bipartisan teams on behalf of our clients. It is public knowledge we have worked with Meta for several years and we are proud of the work we have done."

In a series of tweets, Moffatt pushed back on the Post’s report, stating it “mischaracterizes” the work of the “right-of-center” firm, and that key points are simply false.”