Image Source: Visual China

BEIJING, April 1 (TMTPOST) — Facebook’s parent company Meta is accused of paying campaign consulting company Targeted Victory to plan a nation-wide anti-TikTok campaign in the United States.

The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that Targeted Victory is hired by Meta to spread misinformation on TikTok, citing the latter"s alleged threats to the children in the United States and American society. Internal emails show that the staff of Targeted Victory is trying to utilize national media and lobbying campaigns to destroy TikTok in the United States.

It is reported that the operatives of Targeted Victory are spreading messages calling TikTok a threat to American children by posting relevant articles on major news outlets. The campaign is said to aim to attract journalists who cover politics and local politicians to defeat Facebook’s biggest social media competitor TikTok in the country.

Targeted Victory wants to deliver the message that Meta is now a punching bag in the country while TikTok is the real threat, especially it is a predominant social media platform among teenagers with a connection with foreign capital, a board member of Targeted Victory said in an email. The company is planning to shift anti-trust and privacy issue scrutiny from Meta to TikTok.

In other emails, Targeted Victory urged local partners to send stories that paint TikTok as a social media space harmful to children to local media. The company had also asked local partners whether they have local examples of the harmful impact of TikTok.

In October, Targeted Victory spread rumors of the “Slap a Teacher TikTok challenge” in local news, touting a local news report on the alleged challenge in Hawaii. In reality, there was no such challenge on TikTok.

Targeted Victory uses both genuine concerns and unfounded anxieties to cast doubt about the popular app. One email outlining recent negative TikTok stories mixed reasonable questions, largely about TikTok’s corporate ownership and practices.