Despite everything we’re taught about critical thinking, to some extent, most of us believe what we see. No one person, let alone someone so embroiled in a history of misinformation and conspiracy, should be able to control the way that young people perceive the world, which is effectively what controlling TikTok equates to.
Loading
Through News Corp, Murdoch has manipulated the minds of Australians, Americans and UK residents for decades. Former prime minister Kevin Rudd once referred to him as “an arrogant cancer on our democracy”. While my generation stood a chance of being perhaps the first to escape the stronghold of his media empire, he’s now found another way to reach us, and one that’s much harder to escape.
Unlike a newspaper or subscription TV, social media isn’t seen as inherently biased – there isn’t one platform that the left uses, and one for the right. The danger is that TikTok will creep to one side of politics without us noticing, and the power that Rupert Murdoch has wielded over the older generations is now being passed down to his son Lachlan for him to hold over my generation.
Many young people are aware of what News Corp is; Fox News and Tucker Carlson are perceived by most people my age as either a joke or a significant danger. But few among my generation would be willing to boycott TikTok because of this – the platform is a fundamental part of our world. By taking control of the app, the Murdochs are taking control of the next generation’s minds, and the danger of that is beyond comprehension.
