PoliTikTok

Paul MatzkoFDR Looks Longingly at TikTok Emblem (Dall ‑E 2)Rep. Jeff Jackson (D ‑NC) went onMeet the Press and wasasked why he doesn ’t delete his TikTok account given the risk of Chinese surveillance. He responded with a paradigm‐​shattering statistic: nearly a third of his constituents follow him on TikTok, where he posts weekly videos explaining the nuts and bolts of Congress. A THIRD.Contrast that with how most members of Congress still do constituent outreach. A  couple of times a year a little pamphlet shows up in my mailbox from one of my legislators. Since I don’t need more boilerplate self‐​congratulation in my life, those mailers promptly find their way into my recycling. It’s political junkmail, all but worthless as an organizing tool in t he digital age.But via TikTok, Jeff Jackson can pump out one viral video after another. Of the eighteen videos he ’sposted since December 2022, all but three have over a  million views. Hisvideo on collapse of Silicon Valley Bank reached 28.4 million people, which is ten times as many people aswatched Jackson ’s appearance onMeet the Press.TikTok has allowed Jackson, a  first termer who was picking out his office just three months ago, to build a national platform capable of doing cable news show numbers every week like clockwork. That tells you something about the still underrated potential of TikTok as a political communications tool.Jackson has the most followers on TikTok, but here ’s the cu...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs