United States | No joke

The side-effects of the TikTok tussle

As the app’s future hangs in the balance, the ramifications of the battle are becoming clearer

A TikTok content creator, is seen outside the U.S. Capitol before the House passed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, that could ban TikTok in USA.
The pursuit of appinessPhotograph: Getty Images
|New York

JOE BIDEN’S re-election campaign wants you to know that the president is funny. To prove it, examples of his hilarity are posted almost daily to his TikTok page. One video, peppered with fire emojis, shows him cracking jokes about Donald Trump. Viewers have their own gag: isn’t he trying to ban this app?

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This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “No joke”

From the June 1st 2024 edition

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