Chinese tech firms are routinely vilified in the West for the political control exerted over the content they provide, and for their corporate structure, which includes members of the Communist Party of China directly occupying politically sensitive roles. It looks like NATO may be learning!
In 2020, President Trump signed an order requiring that Chinese-owned social media app TikTok find an American buyer within 45 days. He said that the rapidly growing app presented national security concerns.
Although TikTok never was sold to American purchasers (Biden withdrew the requirement), many of its most politically sensitive posts are filled by former employees of NATO and kindred institutions.
Alan MacLeod, a writer at banned-from-PayPal MintPress News, explains:
TikTok has removed what it claims are over 300,000 Russian accounts, and deleted over 40,000 videos containing “misinformation” about the conflict in Ukraine.
Who is running TikTok?
Its Content Policy Lead in Canada, Alexander Corbeil, happens also to be the vice president of the NATO Association of Canada, itself chaired by former Canadian Minister of Defense David Collenette. Corbeil used to work on Middle Eastern security affairs for a think tank funded by the U.S. State Department.
Ayse Koçak, a Global Product Policy manager at TokTok, spent three years working for NATO, including spending a year in Iraq as NATO’s deputy senior civilian representative there.
Foard Copeland works on TikTok’s “trust and safety” policy. He has previously worked at NATO and at the U.S. Department of Defense. He has also worked for a U.S. defense contractor, in which role he spent many years in Afghanistan.
Feature Policy Manager Greg Andersen worked in the UK on “psychological operations” at NATO until 2019.
And it’s not just NATO.
TikTok’s new Global Lead of Integrity and Authenticity, Chris Roberts, used to be a senior director at the Albright Stonebridge Group (ASG), a firm started by Madeleine Albright. At least 10 ASG employees have been appointed to positions in the Biden administration. Before ASG, Roberts worked on “special projects” for the National Democratic Institute, a CIA front.
Now at TikTok, Roberts is in charge of leading “the Integrity and Authenticity policy team.” This covers “misinformation” among other topics.
