President Joe Biden has turned to a bevy of TikTok influencers to help him battle Russia’s propaganda machine about its invasion of the Ukraine.
The White House held a zoom briefing for about 30 popular internet figures, who promptly took to their social media accounts to talk about what they learned.
‘I just got off of a zoom call with the White House about the situation in Ukraine,’ Kahlil Greene, who calls himself a ‘Gen Z historian,’ posted in a video to his social media accounts.
He said the officials on the briefing call encouraged them ‘as content creators to use our platform to highlight different issues as they arise, especially when mainstream media fails to do so.’
The administration’s move comes as it battles a wave of misinformation out of Moscow where Vladimir Putin is justifying the invasion by making false claims about the Ukraine.
All the ‘digital creators’ on the White House briefing game a similar summary: that the administration was emphasizing its work with allies, the assistance it was offering the Ukraine and how it was trying to prevent a bigger war.
Kahlil Greene, who calls himself a ‘Gen Z historian,’ posted about what he learned on a briefing call the White House held with social media influencers
Aaron Parnas, the son of Lev Parnas, was also on the call and praised the White House for the work it was doing to counter Russian propoganda
Marcus J. DiPaola tweeted about his experience on the White House briefing.
‘The number one message the White House has is U.S. unity with partners & allies. The number two message is to prevent a more expansive war,’ he noted.
National Security Council staffers and White House press secretary Jen Psaki conducted the briefing, according to the Washington Post.
Also on the call was Aaron Parnas, the son of Lev Parnas, the Ukrainian-born former associate of Rudy Giuliani’s who assisted Trump’s plan to pressure Ukraine to investigate Trump’s rivals.
Aaron Parnas, who said he has family in the Ukraine, discussed the White House talking points on the call in a video he posted to his social media accounts.
‘The United States has provided a significant amount of militaristic as well as humanitarian aid to Ukraine,’ he said, citing White House officials.
‘Next we are seeing the United States sanctions on Russia work. Russia’s economy is in freefall, the ruble is at its lowest point in a very long time, and the country is on the brink of default. And finally, the United States is publishing a significant amount of previously classified information that was since declassified in order to debunk Russian misinformation and keep the public and Ukraine aware of what’s happening.’
President Joe Biden turned to tiktok stars to hlep him counter Russian online influence on its invasion and White House press secretary Jen Psaki briefed the social media stars
Both sides have used social media to spread their messages in the Russian-Ukraine conflict: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has posted defiant videos on Facebook to counter Russia rumors he left Kyiv (above)
VICE News uncovered a coordinated campaign to pay Russian TikTok influencers to post videos pushing pro-Kremlin narratives about the war in Ukraine where popular social media influencers shared Moscow’s propoganda even after TikTok banned new uploads from users located inside Russia.
Parnas noted on Twitter that ‘Russia is literally paying people to make content on TikTok and elsewhere. Beware of the propaganda out there, and know that Russia is desparate because they are losing this war.’
Both sides have used social media to spread their messages.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has posted defiant videos on Facebook to counter Russia rumors he left Kyiv. Journalists and others in country have posted photos and video of the damage being done by Russian forces.
The White House briefing was led by Matt Miller, a special adviser for communications at the White House National Security Council, and Psaki, the Post reported.
Gen Z For Change, a nonprofit advocacy group, helped identify the content creators invited to participate.
The information was targeted at the younger generation.
Jules Terpak, an influencer who was on the briefing call, tweeted that ‘TikTok is the media app that many young people click first after unlocking their phones.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk