Protect free speech! Tell TikTok: Don’t Sell Out! ADD YOUR NAME!

The U.S. was in a frenzy over the impending TikTok ban, but the 12-hour shutdown was anticlimactic to say the least. Many wouldn’t have even known the app was gone if not for the message thanking President Trump that popped up on TikTok the morning after the supposed “ban.” While Trump’s Jan 20 executive order preserves TikTok for another 75 days, he claims he must “determine the appropriate course forward in an orderly way that protects national security.” The plan? Selling part of TikTok to an American parent company so they’ll have control over its internal operations. 

Congress originally told us that TikTok was a security threat because China was stealing our data for nefarious purposes. But this was all a cover to hide the true reason they wanted to ban TikTok: to sell the platform to an American company, censor pro-Palestine activism, and silence the many voices working towards liberation. 

It’s clear, in TikTok’s removal of Palestine activism since Jan 20, that app executives are already censoring content to win the favor of the political elite and avoid a potential ban altogether.  

👉 Sign the petition to tell the TikTok CEO, and the executives of its parent company, ByteDance: Don't Sell Out! Stop Censoring Pro-Palestine Content!

In an unpredictable twist of fate, the TikTok ban sent Americans flooding towards the Chinese social media app RedNote, putting into motion an incredible display of cross-cultural communication. Through open discussions with Chinese citizens, Americans began to realize that nearly everything the government has taught them about China is wrong… Naturally, the TikTok ban didn’t last very long after that. 

The government justified the TikTok ban by claiming they were protecting us from China spying on us, but with representatives like Buddy Carter calling TikTok “a haven for pro-Hamas propaganda and antisemitism,” it’s clear this is about repressing the anti-Israel sentiment that arose among Americans as we witnessed Israel’s genocide in Gaza. But it goes even deeper than that. Mike Gallager and Raja Krishnamoorthi, two Congressmen who co-authored a law to ban TikTok, received a combined $183,553 from the pro-Israel lobby in the 2023-2024 election cycle alone. At the same time, Israel just expanded its “hasbara” (propaganda) budget twentyfold, adding $150 million to “primarily target American college campuses, social media platforms, and the international press.” Clearly, this ban is about censoring pro-Palestine content — using propaganda against China to disguise it as a “national security” issue. As Trump calls to “clear out Gaza” and lifts the hold on a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, the need to protect our ability to share information freely has never been more urgent.

Social media censorship isn’t new, and it’s something President Trump’s billionaire friends know all too well. Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg were notably present at Trump’s inauguration, their displays of elite camaraderie and Nazi zeal disgusting the nation. After Musk’s $44 billion takeover of X, he changed the algorithm of the platform to force far right propaganda on millions of people, including his own deranged tweets that nobody wants to see. Additionally, fact-checking had been put on the backburner ahead of Trump’s election, when Musk cited that upholding the truth counted as “election interference.” 

👉 Tell TikTok: No Silencing Palestine Activists! Stop Censoring Peace!

As we face the possibility of further media censorship, Trump and his tech oligarchy bros are hatching plans to invest $500 billion toward an AI project called Stargate. They claim — without evidence — they’re going to use the program to cure cancer, but it’s obvious they’re much more interested in using it for war and surveillance. The possibility of AI technology being used for autonomous warfare and mass surveillance is very real and very likely — especially as the potential $500 billion investment will primarily be used to build data centers. Oracle founder Larry Ellison, who is both in talks to finance Stargate and potentially purchase TikTok, has even said, “If there’s a problem, AI will report that problem and report it to the appropriate person. Citizens will be on their best behavior because we are constantly recording and reporting everything that’s going on.”

For now, we face the very real possibility that the last of our social media platforms will be sold off and censored more than ever before. TikTok, where the majority of Gen Z gets their news, has the power to influence thoughts and beliefs for generations to come. We need to protect free speech from the small, greedy, genocidal hands of the political elite who want to censor truth and shape our thoughts to suit their interests. And we need to stop the government from weaponizing hatred against China to push these terrible policies.

👉 Don't miss out:

• Join us 1/30 for an Instagram Live Discussion w/ Ashish Prashar: Never Forget the War Criminals
• Learn more about our China Is Not Our Enemy Campaign!
• Jam Maersk’s phone lines with your demands!
• Unmask politicians bought by Zionism!
• Sign up to organize and engage locally!
• Order pink keffiyehs from the West Bank!

Until Liberation,

Megan, Nour and the entire CODEPINK team