Here Are Four 'TikTok Stars' the Biden Admin Asked To Peddle Gas Propaganda

Brittany M. Hughes | March 17, 2022
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In a redoubled effort to convince Americans that the reason they’re paying upwards of $6 a gallon for gas is because of Putin – and not because of President Biden’s terrible energy policies and year-long assault on the American oil industry - the White House has employed the help of some 30 TikTok stars to help peddle their propaganda.

Biden administration officials, including White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, held a Zoom call last week with the more than two-dozen “influencers,” known primarily for posting short clips on the Chinese-owned video platform, to discuss the Ukraine crisis, how the U.S. is responding, and why the month-long conflict is somehow to blame for gas prices having steadily risen over the past 14 months. Sending teens and young adults with no experience in public policy or foreign affairs is part of the administration's "strategy to combat the scores of misinformation led by the Kremlin on social media," according to the White House.

But if you’re looking for exactly which social media starlets the administration included, well, that’s harder to find, given that the meeting was "on background," meaning attendees were asked not to share certain details.

Here are the few of those we do know were on the Zoom call, after some of them posted videos pushing the administration’s bogus claims.
 

Jules Ellie Zeiler

Zeiler’s an 18-year-old “influencer” with more than 10 million TikTok followers, somehow. But if you’re thinking all those people subscribe to her channel for her analysis on public policy, think again. Here’s just one example of her many videos (and trust me, other than square inches of skin covered, they pretty much all look the same.)
 

@elliezeiler @yodrew ♬ original sound - 🍪


You know - exactly who you turn to for a critical breakdown of the energy sector.


Kahlil Greene

Greene boasts more than 553,000 Instagram followers, primarily for his monologues talking about Black people and why everyone else is always out to get them (here's one where he complains that LGBTQ slang doesn't give due props to the Black culture they apparently stole it from).

Here's what he had to say after his call with the White House. (Spoiler alert: he wasn't impressed, but if you're looking for thoughtful analysis on the actual situation in Ukraine, don't expect to glean much).
 

@kahlilgreene The White House invited content creators to learn more about the crisis in Ukraine. #hiddenhistory #ukraine #blackcommunitytiktok ♬ original sound - Kahlil


Aaron Parnas

Parnas, who bills himself as a "freelance journalist," has 1.2 million followers on his TikTok channel, which has recently broadcast frequent short videos of himself reading other outlets' news clips about the Ukraine conflict.

That's it. Just....reading news clips.

Like this. Hundreds of videos of...just this.
 

@aaronparnas6 3/17 9:10 AM EST #russia #ukraine #usa #us #peace #news #breakingnews #foryoupage #foryou #fyp #trending #viral ♬ original sound - Aaron Parnas


Marcus DiPaola

If you want your news headlines read to you by a guy who sounds like he keeps people in his walls and makes lamps out of human skin, this guy's for you. Here's a good example of his videos (and yes, they're all like this).
 

@marcus.dipaola

MAR 15 — Kyiv

♬ original sound - Marcus DiPaola



But perhaps not all is lost. Jules Suzdaltsev, a Ukrainian-born journalist who runs a TikTok channel called "Good Morning, Bad News," told the Washington Post he thought the White House call was a “press briefing for kindergartners.”

Which, coincidentally, is what this administration thinks we all are.

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