Not linking for obvious reasons when Washington Post showcases how crooked even they are and Elon Musk blasts them for "Democracy Dies Behind a Paywall": https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/03/30/facebook-tiktok-targeted-victory/
This recent story showcases the length that companies will go to squash out competition and kill competitors through the media. I won't comment on the Hilary Clinton Lawsuit claiming the DNC paid a law firm to dig up dirt on her competitor but will just say of course they would pay a law firm for this.
A crooked and con man Evan Nierman who runs Red Banyan that was sued for Assault, Battery, and Defamation as you can see here: https://unicourt.com/case/fl-mda3-amit-raizada-vs-red-banyan-group-llc-474658
So back to my note taking. Meta paid a PR firm thats owned by The Stagwell Group which also owns Reputation Defender (an online reputation management company) and they were tasked with getting the media to portray TikTok as a dangerous and bad app showcasing it's dangers and even getting senators to call hearings regarding the use of TikTok.
The thing is the article makes it look like journalists and opinion pieces were persuaded by a paid media company to cover an article in order to influence the public's view of TikTok. We deal with this every day with influential articles trying to sway opinion and when can we ever know now whether it's a legitimate article or it was just planted there because of some extortion racket? Sadly we won't ever know for sure so remember that next time you read a negative article or see a lawsuit listed online. Know that it's probably planted there for somebody else's financial gain and motives. That is the sad truth.
