Washington — 

There was an immediate negative reaction.

Following the House of Representatives’ recent vote in favor of a measure that may result in the prohibition of the widely-used TikTok app within the United States, numerous social media platforms were flooded with expressions of frustration and disapproval.

A portion of the frustration was directed at American legislators who backed the legislation, while some was aimed at China.

Several social media profiles, including some with a significant number of followers, attributed fault to Israel and pro-Jewish organizations within the US.

Briahna Joy Gray shared on X that a foreign government is exerting influence on the 2024 election.

The former national press secretary for Senator Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign clarified that they were referring to Israel, not China.

Jake Shields, a former fighter in mixed martial arts, previously utilized social media to express his opinions on transgender-related matters. He pointed fingers at the Anti-Defamation League and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

Shields shared on X that the ADL has warned about TikTok being a danger to Israel and that the Israeli lobbying group AIPAC has given large sums of money to Dan Crenshaw. As a result, Crenshaw is now actively working to ban TikTok.

According to journalist Glenn Greenwald, the TikTok legislation gained support once it became apparent that “Bipartisan DC” was upset about the use of the app to criticize Israel by American citizens.

Posts and videos were swiftly disseminated on popular platforms such as TikTok and Facebook.

VOA reached out to U.S. officials for comment, who stated that the hasty accusations towards Israel or Jewish groups by certain social media users did not come as a shock.

Unfortunately, there are individuals in America who hold prejudiced views against Jewish people and may unjustly associate them with issues such as Congress banning a Chinese-controlled app. This statement was made by Republican Senator Marco Rubio in response to a query from VOA.

“Their love for TikTok is no coincidence; it’s a tool used by the Chinese Communist Party to sow division and weaken our nation,” said Rubio, the vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a supporter of the legislation. “We can debate Middle East policy, but we must not tolerate hate or allow Communist China to manipulate our discourse.”

The FBI has been cautioning about the potential risks associated with TikTok and the increasing prevalence of anti-Semitic sentiments in the United States. However, they have chosen not to provide further statement on the matter, citing statements made by Director Christopher Wray during recent congressional hearings.

During the annual Worldwide Threats hearing, Wray told House lawmakers that Americans should consider if they are comfortable with allowing the Chinese government to have power over their data and influence the information they receive through their recommendation algorithm.

According to Wray, detecting the algorithm and recommendation algorithm used to conduct influence operations is extremely challenging.

Experts monitoring influence operations on social media have not found any proof of a coordinated effort to spread conspiracy theories blaming Israel or Jewish organizations for the TikTok legislation, but they remain cautious.

According to Ben Dubow, president of Omelas, a Washington-based organization that tracks and analyzes online disinformation and influence operations, the time following the Hamas terror attack on Israel on 10/7 highlighted how TikTok’s algorithm can quickly facilitate the spread of antisemitic conspiracies without the need for external coordination. Omelas utilizes data collection, artificial intelligence, and expert analysis in their work.

Dubow acknowledged the potential for TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to prioritize the promotion of anti-Israel and antisemitic content if it was perceived as beneficial by the Chinese government.

He stated that there is little research on TikTok’s algorithm, but what is available suggests that ByteDance prioritizes content that aligns with the goals of the Chinese Communist Party.

The conspiracy theories generated attention from other media sources such as Russia’s RT and Qatar’s Al Jazeera, according to Omelas.

Dubow reported that there have been some posts from RT and Al Jazeera connecting the recent effort for a ban on TikTok to its involvement in promoting “anti-Zionism” as a response to the events on October 7. However, none of the posts directly link the ban to AIPAC and ADL.

Geoff Roth, a professor of practice and journalism at the University of Houston, agreed the surge of social media posts echoing the Israel-TikTok narrative appeared to be “more organic.”

According to him, the Israel conspiracy theory is often promoted by individuals who frequently share content that is critical of Israel and supportive of Palestine. He shared this with VOA.

According to Roth, there are individuals with opposing political beliefs who share a strong negative sentiment towards Israel due to the current events in Gaza.

Roth also mentioned that there is a theory connecting the TikTok legislation to Israel and Jewish groups, which has received the most attention, but it is not the only narrative that has gained popularity since the bill was passed in the House.

The speaker mentioned two main perspectives: one focuses on security and doubts about the validity of the legislation, specifically regarding the [Chinese] Communist Party, while the other centers on more exaggerated beliefs such as a conspiracy by Republicans to sway younger voters against Biden due to potential loss of their support if he enforces the law.

An individual on X promoting the Republican conspiracy about the TikTok legislation referred to it as “just another deception.”

A new X account added as a second account, “I believe that the Republicans who recently voted to ban TikTok will later change its name to ‘Biden Ban’ once he signs it. In a matter of weeks, that will become the official name and what most people will remember.”

Source: voanews.com