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Republican lawmakers are increasingly concerned about a tide of anti-Israel content on TikTok during the war with Hamas and they are renewing their push to ban the China-owned app, The Post has learned.

While TikTok is highly secretive about the algorithms that distribute millions of short-form videos on the app daily, there are some telltale signs of the disproportionate amount of anti-Israel content on the app versus videos favoring Palestinians.

For example, the top result for the search phrase stand with Palestine had been viewed nearly 3 billion times as of Oct. 26, while the top result for stand with Israel was viewed just over 200 million times, according to one analysis that went viral on X.

TikToks own data obtained by Axios showed a similar gap in the US, with more than twice as many posts using the hashtag #StandwithPalestine as posts with #StandwithIsrael over the last two weeks.

The trends have worried prominent GOP lawmakers and officials some of whom, like Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), have called for a nationwide ban on TikTok over concerns that the app functions as a spying and propaganda tool for the Chinese Communist party.

Blackburn told the Post that it would not be surprising that the Chinese-owned TikTok is pushing pro-Hamas content to serve Chinas agenda which has increasingly aligned with the interests of rival nations such as Russia and Iran.

The CCP benefits by destabilizing the Middle East and pushing the United States to put more manpower back into the region, Blackburn said. The United States needs to ban this app that steals and spies on American users.

The tidal wave of pro-Palestinian content intensified earlier this month on TikTok, whose base of more than 150 million US users primarily skews toward Gen Z and millennials.

Scrutiny over TikToks role in the Israel-Hamas war included a recent viral thread composed by Jeff Morris Jr., managing partner of the venture fund Chapter One, who argued that Israel and its allies are losing the information war with high school & college students on the popular app.

A massive gap in the visibility of hashtags suggests that TikToks algorithm was amplifying pro-Palestine viewpoints, according to Morriss research.

Morris could not immediately be reached for comment.

Because the TikTok narrative is now so anti-Israel, the engagement flywheel encourages creators to support that narrative because its getting the most attention and creating anti-Israel content helps them increase their following.

TikTok had managed to escape the federal limelight as of late, but the apps central role in public discourse around the Israel-Hamas war could once again put them in the spotlight.

Gallagher, who serves as chair of the House Select Committee on China, told The Post that TikTok has become ground zero for disinformation and pro-Hamas propaganda and warned TikTok parent ByteDances ties to Beijing have made it difficult to separate organic viral trends from China-backed bots or influence campaigns. 

We have zero visibility into whether the viral nature of this content is the result of user engagement, bot campaigns, or the CCPs covert influence, Gallagher said in a statement. All of this illustrates the fundamental problem with TikTok: it is an avenue for the CCP to covertly inject any message it wantsparticularly during a crisisinto the American bloodstream. We must act now to ban it.

Rubio noted that he has been warning that Communist China is capable of using TikToks algorithm to manipulate and influence Americans for quite some time. 

Weve seen TikTok used to downplay the Uyghur genocide, the status of Taiwan, and now Hamas terrorism; This is further proof that the app needs to be banned and treated for what it is: foreign propaganda, Rubio said in a statement.

Last March, Rubio asked FBI Director Christopher Wray point-blank whether China could use TikTok to drive narratives aimed at stoking division in America. At the time, Wray acknowledged that it was not only possible, but the FBI was not sure that we would see many of the outward signs of it happening, if it was happening.”

A TikTok spokesperson pushed back on the lawmakers’ concerns, stating “there is no basis to these false claims.”

“Our Community Guidelines apply equally to all content on TikTok and we’re committed to consistently enforcing our policies to protect our community,” the spokesperson said. “The content on TikTok is generated by our community, and recommended based on content-neutral signals from users, and is not influenced by any government.”

The company said it regularly takes action to remove bot networks targeting American audiences, including some that originate in China. The company also noted that it sponsored the Anti-Defamation League’s “Concert Against Hate” this week, where honorees included Holocaust survivor Tova Friedman and her grandson, Aron Goodman.

The demographics of TikToks youthful user base could be another factor in the disparity. Morris cited a Harvard University poll showing that 51% of Americans aged 18 to 24 believed Hamas was justified in carrying out terrorist attacks that killed more than 1,200 Israeli civilians.

Meanwhile, a recent Reuters poll found 20% of people aged 18 to 24 go to TikTok for news, up 5% compared to last year. At the same time, public trust in traditional news outlets has dwindled.

TikTok touted its efforts to combat the spread of misinformation, noting in a recent blog post that it has removed over 500,000 videos and closed 8,000 livestreams in the impacted region for violating our guidelines.

Even as TikTok defends its recent actions, others note that antisemitism is a longstanding problem on the platform. Well before the Hamas attack, Israeli leaders were warning TikTok was spreading anti-Israel propaganda. Other individuals, like an Israeli actor, say TikTok has simply removed their videos that show how brutal the Hamas terrorists are.

Earlier this month, the European Union demanded that TikTok and fellow social media giant Meta provide details about their efforts to combat misinformation and hate speech related to the Israel-Hamas war.

TikToks efforts so far have failed to satisfy critics, including Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who stated TikTok is bad for your brain, bad for your kids, and if you needed another reason to stay awayits filled with antisemitic propaganda.

The TikTok spokesperson also pushed back on allegations of rampant antisemitism on the platform.

“TikTok stands firmly against hateful ideologies, including antisemitism, which have no place on our platform, the spokesperson said. We remove this content immediately when we identify it.

Meanwhile, Republican FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, another advocate for a nationwide ban on TikTok, noted China has a demonstrated history of using TikTok for foreign influence campaigns that advance Communist Chinas geopolitical interests.

The average TikTok user is more likely to be exposed to content favorable to the CCP than other major social media platforms, and leaked documents previously showed that TikTok instructed moderators to censor videos that mention Tiananmen Square, Carr said in a statement. So it would not be surprising at all if the data show that the CCP has been using TikTok to influence public opinion on Israel and Hamas.

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US-Ukraine deal no longer looks like gangsters running a protection racket – but Trump could still end military support

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US-Ukraine deal no longer looks like gangsters running a protection racket - but Trump could still end military support

This is a significant moment in this war.

It strengthens ties between Ukraine and the US which have been fraying to the point of disintegration.

But will it increase the chances of a diplomatic breakthrough to find peace? Possibly not. Without that, this agreement will have changed little in this pointless grinding war.

But it does give Donald Trump a personal political investment in a conflict he has always seemed to have regarded as someone else’s fault, someone else’s problem and a money pit for US resources.

On the face of it, it is a purely economic agreement.

Ukraine had wanted to tie in explicit guarantees of continuing US military support. The details are scant but they appear to be absent.

But reaching agreement is a considerable diplomatic achievement on both sides.

More from World

The negotiations have been painful.

Ukraine war latest: Follow live updates

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Trump and Zelenskyy – it’s complicated?

The idea of a minerals deal was initially proposed by President Zelenskyy but at times he must have regretted it as acrimonious talks threatened to torpedo US support for Ukraine entirely.

It was meant to have been signed in February before the infamous Zelenskyy-Trump-Vance bust up in the Oval Office.

At one point it looked like an act of extortion. Like gangsters running a protection racket, the US seemed to be demanding all Ukraine’s mineral wealth in return for continued support.

But the terms now look less onerous. Most importantly it seems the Trump administration is not asking retrospectively for the return of billions given by the Biden administration, by means of this minerals extraction agreement.

The turning point in negotiations appears to have been the meeting engineered between Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the Pope’s funeral in Rome on Saturday. Mr Zelenskyy appears to have persuaded Mr Trump it was a deal worth signing.

Read more:
Key moments that have shaped Trump and Zelenskyy relationship
Tesla’s board members ‘start looking for Musk’s successor’
What the White House has said about minerals deal

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From February: Watch Trump and Zelenskyy clash

The terms are vague and not detailed but the agreement appears to be more of a long term proposal for joint cooperation over Ukraine’s economic future.

America will invest in exploiting Ukraine’s mineral wealth but also share the profits years down the line.

The signing comes at a crucial time for Ukraine. Its forces are losing ground on the battlefield. And Mr Trump’s efforts to broker peace look decidedly one-sided against them.

Falling in line on this deal was essential for Ukrainians. Whether it saves them from President Trump walking away and ending military support for them anyway, is by no means certain.

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Morgan Stanley eyes crypto rollout for E*Trade platform: Bloomberg

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Morgan Stanley eyes crypto rollout for E*Trade platform: Bloomberg

Morgan Stanley eyes crypto rollout for E*Trade platform: Bloomberg

Banking giant Morgan Stanley reportedly plans to list cryptocurrencies on its E*Trade investment brokerage and trading platform.

According to a May 1 Bloomberg report, the firm intends to list crypto assets on E*Trade in 2026. The plan is still in early development, and the bank is said to be exploring partnerships with established crypto firms to power the service. Internal discussions about cryptocurrency support reportedly began in late 2024.

Banking, Banks, Cryptocurrency Exchange, Morgan Stanley
E*Trade homepage. Source: E*Trade

This would not be Morgan Stanley’s first exposure to digital assets. The bank’s wealthiest clients have had access to crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and futures for some time, with the firm’s advisers allowed to pitch Bitcoin ETFs since August 2024.

Related: Morgan Stanley to explore crypto offerings for clients — CEO

Regulatory tailwinds push crypto forward

The news follows previous reports that Morgan Stanley was considering adding cryptocurrency trading to its E*Trade online brokerage platform in early January. The reports at the time cited the expectations of a friendlier crypto regulatory environment.

The move comes amid an increasingly favorable regulatory environment in the United States following the election of President Donald Trump, who campaigned on a pro-crypto platform and is personally involved in several blockchain ventures.

Related: Morgan Stanley discloses $188M in BlackRock Bitcoin ETF holdings

The first 30 days of the Trump administration brought significant changes to the local crypto industry. More recently, US crypto proponents have shown optimism following the swearing-in of pro-crypto Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins.

The SEC had significantly changed its stance even before Atkins took office. In late February, the agency had already paused multiple cryptocurrency enforcement cases with imminent deadlines.

This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.

Magazine: ZK-proofs are bringing smart contracts to Bitcoin — BitcoinOS and Starknet

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Trump rewrites crypto rules in first 100 days, industry celebrates ‘180 pivot’ from Biden years

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Trump rewrites crypto rules in first 100 days, industry celebrates '180 pivot' from Biden years

People walk past an advertisement feature Donald Trump with Bitcoin in Hong Kong. 

May James | Lightrocket | Getty Images

As President Donald Trump hit the 100-day mark this week for his second term in office, his approval numbers were lower than for any administration at this point in over seven decades.

Don’t tell that to the crypto community.

Trump ran for office on a promise to make America “the crypto capital of the world.” Those who got behind that message say he’s already delivered, or at least gotten off to a hot start.

A blitz of executive actions, strategic appointments, and early wins, from the creation of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve to the rollback of enforcement-heavy SEC tactics, has left the industry feeling more welcome in Washington, D.C., than ever.

“Every single appointment — I’m happy with from a crypto perspective,” said Nic Carter, founding partner at Castle Island Ventures. “The previous financial regulatory apparatus was dead set against crypto, and now it’s been a total 180 compared to that.”

President Trump faced early blowback after proposing the possibility of a strategic crypto reserve that would go beyond bitcoin and include other digital currencies like etherXRP,  Solana’s SOL token and Cardano’s ADA. Skeptics said taxpayer dollars shouldn’t be spent on such risky assets. The president soon narrowed the plan to focus solely on bitcoin and made clear he wouldn’t use taxpayer funds to support a government buying strategy.

He’s also been criticized by some for launching a meme coin that’s added billions of dollars in paper wealth to his net worth. The $TRUMP token surged earlier this month after its website announced that top holders would be invited to a private dinner with the president. His family is also involved in other crypto projects.

Exodus legal chief discusses SEC's first crypto roundtable under new Chair Paul Atkins

“It doesn’t really help to have members of his family do encrypted projects of their own,” Carter said. “I understand that they are interested in the industry and want to engage with it, but the optics are not that favorable around that.”

But for the most part, that behavior is being ignored as the crypto industry prefers to focus its attention elsewhere even as the president’s job approval broadly sits at just 43%, according to an average of recent national polls.

At the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Jonathan Gould has signaled support for issuing new bank charters to crypto firms. During President Joe Biden’s presidency, that was almost unthinkable.

“We’ll see a lot of new crypto firms getting bank charters,” Carter said. “And new banks getting set up that are expressively focused on crypto and stablecoins.”

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, under interim chair Travis Hill, is also making moves. Crypto fans have applauded his efforts to expose what industry insiders call “Choke Point 2.0,” an alleged coordinated effort by regulators during the Biden presidency to pressure banks into severing ties with crypto.

Paul Atkins, the new chair of the SEC, represents a stark contrast to predecessor Gary Gensler, who was a notorious hardliner when it came to crypto regulations and enforcement. Carter said the SEC under Atkins has already begun working directly with crypto stakeholders, including Castle Island, to craft guidance on token issuance and the line between securities and commodities.

“This is the clarity we’ve been asking for,” Carter said. “Even barring a legislative solution, I think the SEC is going to come out with real guidance around tokens and how a domestic crypto firm can operate.”

Atkins made his first public appearance just four days into the job by opening a crypto roundtable — a move that sent a clear signal to industry participants. Last week, Atkins hosted a half-day session at SEC headquarters in Washington, D.C., focused on crypto innovation and custody. The event took place weeks after the regulator formally dropped its long-running lawsuit against Ripple, a symbolic end to a four-year battle between the SEC and the crypto industry. 

Read more about tech and crypto from CNBC Pro

Veronica McGregor, the chief legal officer of Exodus and a participant in the SEC’s crypto roundtable, echoed Carter’s sentiment in calling the approach a “180 pivot.”

“Just having the roundtables are kind of surprising and refreshing,” said McGregor, who contributed to the political advocacy group Stand With Crypto during the 2024 campaign. “Given that we have an administration that is touting itself as pro-crypto and making some changes that need to be made, I would say those donations were strategically placed and are paying off.”

Waiting on the Fed

Trump has tapped Brian Quintenz, currently policy chief for the crypto group at venture firm Andreessen Horowitz, to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Carter cautioned that the Federal Reserve remains a “structural holdout.” While banks can now custody crypto, thanks to the repeal of an accounting rule called SAB 121, they still can’t work directly with crypto firms “unless the Fed says they can,” Carter said.

The FDIC and OCC have rescinded their anti-crypto guidance, but the Federal Reserve has only partially followed suit. A notice from Jan. 2023 continues to restrict banks from certain crypto-related activities.

“The Fed is still the blocker for banks to deal with stablecoins for crypto,” Carter said.

Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box outside the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 21st, 2025.

Gerry Miller | CNBC

Still, the industry has largely gotten what it wants.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong was among the biggest donors in the 2024 election cycle and made it his second job to try and get crypto-friendly candidates elected. Paul Grewal, the company’s legal chief, said the Trump administration has “really flipped the script on crypto.”

“It wasn’t all that long ago that we had an administration that not only was skeptical of this entirely new technology, but was in fact hostile to it,” Grewal said. “Now we have a White House and a wider administration that is not only welcoming of digital assets and blockchain-based technologies, but embracing it in a number of different ways, and that really has stood out in the first 100 days.”

Grewal also pointed to some bipartisan momentum in Congress, including bills on stablecoins and market structure.

“We’ve got one issue, it seems, where the White House, together with Republicans on the Hill, have worked together with Democrats in both houses of the Congress to get digital asset legislation on the move,” Grewal said.

Grewal praised the SEC for soliciting public input and opening the door to industry participation on topics like custody and market structure.

Faryar Shirzad, Coinbase’s chief policy officer, said the administration has already met two core expectations: ending the regulatory crackdown on crypto and working with Congress to deliver clarity.

He said he’s been pleasantly surprised by the scope of the administration’s ambitions to go beyond bitcoin and to integrate blockchain technology across the broader financial system.

“They are moving much more aggressively to try to implement crypto and blockchain technology in the broader capital markets,” he said. At the SEC, he said, that includes tokenizing the equities market and examining how that fits within traditional regulatory frameworks.

Trump’s World Liberty Financial crypto project says it sold $550 million in tokens

Shirzad also noted that bank regulators have begun exploring blockchain-based payment systems. Beyond the $3 trillion crypto market, he said the administration’s target appears to be the $100 trillion capital markets, “and I think that’s something that people should pay close attention to.”

Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stu Alderoty, now president of the National Cryptocurrency Association, said internal data shows that 73% of U.S. crypto holders want to see the country become a global leader in the space.

“The government and the industry can now move out of the courtroom and invest in what the U.S. does best — innovation,” Alderoty told CNBC.

Fred Thiel, CEO of bitcoin mining firm MARA Holdings, pointed to early wins for his slice of the industry. He said the administration’s support for mining technology allows companies “to strengthen the U.S. economy and grid.”

Thiel, who participated in the first White House Digital Assets Summit, praised the swift appointment of pro-crypto officials and the launch of the President’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets.

Dan Lawrence CEO of OBM, which manages energy use for industrial-scale mining farms, said the administration’s pro-energy stance has made bitcoin a natural tool for incentivizing new power infrastructure.

“Bitcoin is a great way to incentivize the build out of that power,” Lawrence said. “It’s really great to see bitcoin being acknowledged at the federal level.”

WATCH: OCC rescinds key regulatory hurdle for banking system to engage in crypto-related activity

OCC rescinds key regulatory hurdle for banking system to engage in crypto-related activity

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