...and convince others to do the same

Summary: Bytedance's TikTok (some spell it ByteDance) comes in two "flavours", which are known as spinach and opium. The former is for the local (Chinese) market and makes people obedient, whereas the latter makes people destructive (to themselves and to others) overseas; why can't the mainstream media properly convey such a simple message?

THE threat remains potent and the evidence keeps piling up. The US Surgeon General's investigations into health damage, both physical and mental, caused by social control media is relevant. Then there's also the CBS 60-Minutes segment from last autumn, even though it is not viewable outside the US. It's the "opium TikTok" vs "spinach TikTok" segment.

So why are people still being "Zuckers" of Facebook? Why are people flocking from one poison to another poison? Why are so many people in the West still "using" (being used by) Bytedance's TikTok? Do they not understand what Bytedance is? The name sounds benign. It's misleading. Those are all poisons, but both methods and dosages vary, depending on geography and geopolitics.

We're hoping that the media will be predisposed to criticise Bytedance's TikTok. We can only hope.

"We're hoping that the media will be predisposed to criticise Bytedance's TikTok. We can only hope."Even though the pertinent facts are widely and openly available, the media thinks it can gain audiences by sucking up to Bytedance's masters. Sometimes it gets paid to do this! To give an example, a tabloid that kept promoting TikTok almost every day (even several times per day in recent months) decided to publish an article entitled "Dangerous TikTok trends claim 4 lives in 6 months in Alabama: officials". This was published this past Saturday. As someone explained today, Bytedance's TikTok is at its heart a weapon. But with the multiple, daily mass shootings there, people have become inured to not just threats and danger but to actual damage even.

Sadly, the criticism we saw about 3 months ago is almost never/nowhere to be found anymore.

The spamfarm CNET (yes, CNET is SEO-optimised word spew, not journalism) has just published some spam for TikTok. Someone has told me all the mainstream media is pushing Bytedance's TikTok as if they were hired to advertise for it and advocate for its universal usage.

"The White House is not benign either; we should reject them all."We're seeing the same from Gizmodo in recent days [2-3], whereas some talk about banning the darn thing [4], some neglect to say [5] that the court challenge is in fact sponsored by Bytedance's TikTok (some reports correctly say that it's Bytedance's TikTok making the case [6], not "5 Content Creators"), some demonstrate the real harm of TikTok [7], and the real harms are highlighted again [8-9], albeit at the same time they promote TikTok as a gateway (or gatekeeper) for recipes.

Our assessment of this has been consistent; all social control media is bad and one that's controlled by the dictators in Beijing is even worse because it's the reflection of the regime (China is objectively more repressive than Europe and North America). The White House is not benign either; we should reject them all. ⬆

Related/contextual items from the news:

1. 2023-07-08 [Older] The Best Viral TikTok Products That Are Worth Your Money - CNET

2. 2023-07-07 [Older] BookTok Might Have Been a Mistake, But Sometimes It's Still Good

3. 2023-07-07 [Older] Shazam Expands iOS Integration to YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok

4. 2023-07-06 [Older] "Securing our digital infrastructure': Delta, Southwest airlines move to ban TikTok for employees

5. 2023-07-06 [Older] TikTok and 5 Content Creators Ask Federal Judge to Block Montana From Banning App

6. 2023-07-06 [Older] TikTok Asks US Judge to Block Montana Ban Before Jan. 1 Effective Date

7. 2023-07-05 [Older] New Jersey Judge Investigated for Posting 'Racist' And 'Explicit' Lip-Syncing Videos on TikTok

8. 2023-07-05 [Older] TikTok is confusing by design

9. 2023-07-04 [Older] No, AI can’t tell the future

10. 2023-07-03 [Older] It’s pasta salad summer