State Armour, TikTok
War with TikTok takes new turn as State Armor embarks on 7-digits dollar ad campaign to expose Chinese tech company
A non-profit group, State Armour, has revealed plans to launch a multimillion-dollar website and public awareness campaign to highlight TikTok and its parent business ByteDance’s close ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Michael Lucci, CEO and Founder of State Armor Action disclosed this in a press release on Wednesday.
State Armour, launched in January this year claims it is focused on supporting the government in implementing countermeasures to threats to international security, strengthening US reaction to hitherto unseen security issues.
According to the release, the campaign’s first segment centres on Zhang Fuping, a veteran propagandist who holds the positions of vice president, chief editor, and Communist Party secretary at ByteDance. Zhang will be the subject of the television commercial.
During the launch, Lucci said: “States are now on the front lines against foreign adversaries. In fact, for years states have been targeted by well-resourced, technologically sophisticated foreign adversaries, particularly communist China.”
A former U.S. National Security Advisor, Robert O’Brien, while reacting to the launch earlier this year expressed his optimism on the organisation to fulfil its goal.
“It’s no secret the Chinese Communist Party poses a major threat to the American way of life, but until now there hasn’t been a group solely focused on taking on Communist China at the state level. This issue is not partisan. States want to take action; State Armor will be there to show them how,” he said.
State Armour Action’s nationwide campaign, according to the release, will also feature targeted digital ads, mobile billboards positioned throughout Washington, D.C.’s Capitol Hill, and a brand-new website called TikTokistheCCP.com that provides easily accessible research and information for stakeholders and the general public.
“As long as it remains under the control of Fuping, ByteDance, and the Communist Party, TikTok is a dangerous tool in the hands of a dangerous enemy, and it must be taken away before it is too late,” Lucci noted.