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China Digital

Trump’s TikTok Ban Goes Trending on Weibo (and on TikTok)

“Did Trump buy up the trending lists?”, some Chinese web users wonder.

Manya Koetse

Published

6 years ago

on

First published

Just days after TikTok released a statement saying it would open its algorithms, President Trump announced that the app would be “banned from the United States.”

Trump reportedly said he would take action as soon as Saturday, August 1st, using emergency economic power or an executive order. The move comes at a time of China-US escalating tensions.

TikTok has recently fallen under scrutiny in the U.S.

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Manya Koetse

Manya Koetse is a sinologist, writer, and public speaker specializing in China’s social trends, digital culture, and online media ecosystems. She founded What’s on Weibo in 2013 and now runs the Eye on Digital China newsletter. Learn more at manyakoetse.com or follow her on X, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

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1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Yu Xingwu

    August 1, 2020 at 12:37 pm

    Just found a spelling mistake in para.5: TikTok CEO is Kevin Mayer, not Kevin Mayers.

    Reply

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