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Jeff Jackson is a Democratic representative from North Carolina who has made unexpected waves on the platform TikTok. Through this app, Jackson has made a series of videos aimed to inform the audience about political topics such as the Russian-Ukraine war and the national debt ceiling. In a video he made addressing the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, he garnered an impressive 29.8 million views (as of 2/19/24). He's clearly found his niche audience as at the time of writing this, he holds 2.5 million followers and 34.5 million likes across all videos.
While he has received support from many TikTok viewers, other viewers, as well as Congress members, disapprove of his presence on the app due to security concerns. TikTok is a Chinese-owned app that is rumored to exploit users' personal data. There's been a push from both Democrats and Republicans to band TikTok. Jackson is one of less than 30 members to utilize the app personally, but even he agrees that the app should be banned unless the app is sold to be put into safer hands.
While there are fears of security on this particular platform, Jackson's impact on viewers is undeniable and groundbreaking in the field of politics. His approach to informing voters with direct and transparent communication is like a breath of fresh air almost. "'I genuinely think there is no trust without transparency,' Jackson said. 'There's an enormous lack of trust, and the way you respond to that isn't by telling people that they're wrong not to trust us. The way you respond to that is by genuinely seeking to earn trust, and that has to start with transparency.'" (Papp, 2023)
Source:
Papp, J. (2023). Rep. Jeff Jackson, Congress' biggest TikTok star, sees the app as a tool for transparency. CQ Roll Call. https://rollcall.com/2023/04/05/rep-jeff-jackson-congress-biggest-tiktok-star-sees-the-app-as-a-tool-for-transparency/
I think the few politician's who have started to use tiktok to reach voters is a very smart idea. Tiktok is one of the biggest apps, and it has clearly been working to reach vast audiences. While our officials may think its "unsafe" i still think this new wave of transparency is helping draw in the younger generations like people have been wanting.
ReplyDeleteIt makes sense as to why politicians have begun utilizing TikTok as a way to reach an audience because it has become such a popular social media. I think this idea can be scary just because people will be fed ideas, sometimes harmful ones, that are meant to benefit someone else. You mentioned that Jeff Jacksons approach to informing voters with direct and transparent communication is like a breath of fresh air and I would have to completely agree. It is difficult to know politicians' motivations especially. Transparency is something I think we are lacking particularly in politics and it is nice to see that a social media platform is being used for something good instead of a means of manipulation.
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