US President Joe Biden launched his account on the social media platform “Tik Tok” on Sunday, with a 26-second video, in an apparent attempt to attract younger voters as the election date approaches.
The move comes after sharp criticism from the US government of the video sharing platform in recent years, led by Republicans, some of which also came from the Biden administration.
TikTok is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, and a wide range of American politicians have accused it of being a propaganda tool used by Beijing, something the company strongly denies.
In the recording, which was posted on the Biden campaign account @bidenhq, the 81-year-old Democratic president touched on topics ranging from politics to the National Football League.
When asked if he preferred the Super Bowl matches themselves or the show that takes place during the match after the end of the first half, Biden chose the match.
When asked about the existence of a secret plan to manipulate the outcome of the game so that Taylor Swift, who is dating Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce, would exploit her fame to support Biden, the president mocked the idea, which some consider a right-wing conspiracy theory.
“I’d be in trouble if I told you,” he says.
The recording concluded by asking the president who his preferred candidate was: him or Republican Donald Trump, to which he responded, laughing, “Is this a joke? Biden.”
Worried about Tik Tok?
Several states and the federal government have banned the app on official government devices, citing associated security concerns.
In Montana, a judge recently blocked the state government’s push to ban the app entirely.
Despite Washington’s concerns about the platform, there do not appear to be additional federal efforts currently to ban it or limit its use.
Civil liberties lawyer David Greene told the British newspaper The Guardian: “It currently appears that the idea of a ban is being promoted in order to score political points, and not as part of a serious effort to develop legislation in this regard.”
