TikTok influencers have become modern pitchmen, which may not be good for their followers but is definitely good for their own bottom line.
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On the face of it, it seems absurd. Why would people make decisions based on what they heard on an app affiliated with China’s Communist government?
Most people don’t view the phenomenon of TikTok influencers through that prism, yet that scenario aptly describes the choices made by millions of Americans each day. Above and beyond the question of whether the app should have anything to do with the Chinese government (and it shouldn’t) lie larger existential questions about the nature of 21st-century society.
