Eleven years ago, Facebook was caught red-handed after hiring a major public relations firm to try to put up stories harshly criticizing Google’s privacy practices in major news outlets.
In 2018, it hired PR firm Definers to conduct opposition research on critics of the company, including billionaire philanthropist George Soros. The company’s longtime head of communications, Elliot Schrage, took the blame for approving the hiring of Definers and similar firms and left Facebook.
On Tuesday, The Washington Post reported that Facebook’s parent company, Meta, is using a similar strategy to go after another rival, TikTok. As the Post reports, Meta has hired a Republican consulting firm, Targeted Victory, to run a nationwide campaign against TikTok.
Targeted Victory, according to the Post, has contracted with dozens of public relations firms across the U.S. to help sway public opinion against TikTok, to help cover local news and op-eds targeting TikTok across the country. The story tells.
Meta confirmed that it has hired Targeted Victory.
We believe that all platforms, including TikTok, should face the level of scrutiny commensurate with their growing success,” spokesman Andy Stone said in a statement.
Targeted Victory CEO Zack Moffat said the company manages bipartisan teams on behalf of our customers.
“It is public information that we have worked with Meta for many years and we are proud of the work we have done,” he said in a statement.
The Post obtained internal emails from Targeted Victory outlining a campaign to undermine TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance. The firm used a mix of genuine concerns and unfounded concerns about TikTok to try to turn public and political sentiment against it.
According to the report, Targeted Victory was also working to get active coverage about Facebook in the local media, for example, in supporting Black-owned businesses, speaking candidly about Facebook’s role. Submitting letters and opinion pieces.
We are deeply concerned that local media reports on perceived trends may not be found on the platform, causing real-world harm, TikTok said in an emailed statement.
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