MRC Founder and President Brent Bozell told Fox Business Network host Stuart Varney on Thursday’s Varney & Co. that the threat posed by communist Chinese government-tied TikTok far exceeds any downsides of banning the app.
When Varney pressed Bozell on the political and economic costs of banning TikTok on Nov. 16, Bozell put everything into perspective, pointing out that TikTok is tied to “the greatest enemy of the United States.” Bozell said, “This is important because TikTok is owned by the Chinese government. The Chinese are the number one enemy of the United States. They’re using it while playing with their algorithms to mess with the American society. They’re stealing all the data. It is so serious that Senator Josh Hawley [R-MO] has called for federal legislation to ban TikTok. Numerous other senators, Republicans have joined in this call: Blackburn, Rubio, Cruz and others.”
Bozell’s response come on the heels of an alarming Pew Research Center survey, published Nov. 15, that found that nearly one-third of Americans under the age of 30 get their news from TikTok.
While Varney suggested that there may be a political cost to banning an app popular with young Americans, Bozell pointed out the patriotic nature of such a sacrifice, “Will there be a political price to pay? Maybe, and if it is, I take my hat off to the Republicans who know that and are willing to pay a price to ban a nefarious operation that is undermining the United States and owned by the greatest enemy of the United States.”
Near the beginning of the interview, Bozell discussed the difference between TikTok and American anti-free speech social media platforms like Facebook, saying TikTok is far worse. “TikTok is different,” said Bozell. “They are owned by the greatest enemy of the United States of America. I don't trust the Chinese on anything.”
Bozell also detailed how President Joe Biden is approaching this clear and present threat to American security. “[T]his is the noteworthy thing,” said Bozell. “On the other side of the coin, Joe Biden's campaign has announced they are going to use TikTok and use TikTok influencers to reach young people in his reelection campaign.”
Varney implored that TikTok was efficient and that its algorithms “work.” But Bozell pushed back, making clear that no downside, economic or political, was worth the risk of poisoning America’s youth against their own country and her allies. “I suppose [TikTok is] good on things that don’t matter to them, but will raise their business, but they’re not good when they’re playing with algorithms,” said Bozell. “Look, there's 10 times as much information on TikTok that praises Hamas than there is that praises Israel. If that isn't algorithm manipulation, I don’t know [what is], and remember, the audiences are young people, so that's the influencing business. That's how they are being influenced, and I think it’s a very dangerous thing.”
Early on in the interview, Bozell even suggested that the Pew Research Center’s survey does not tell the whole story with regard to exactly how many users get their news from the infamous communist Chinese government-tied platform. “Information and news are blending into one thing,” said Bozell. “Look what we’re doing right now. You and I are having a discussion analyzing a report that made news. That’s the way we are today. So, when it’s one-third of people who say they get their news from TikTok, it’s actually far more than that because their getting their information — which to them is news.”
Conservatives are under attack! Contact TikTok via email at communitymanager@tiktok.com and demand Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment and provide transparency. If you have been censored, contact us at the Media Research Center contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
