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One TikTook creator
posted a video of herself operating round and screaming in pleasure. In the video she says: “We’re not going anywhere! Oh my God!” Another person
shared a screenshot of a information article about an impending deal, overlaying it with animated fireworks and writing: “Big breaking news! Looks like Oracle is TikTok’s savior!”
“Oracle came in clutch and just completely saved the day,”
mentioned one other creator in a video. “We all thank you so much. We love you Oracle. You’re our favorite.”
But it’s kind of of an odd pairing, as Oracle is an enterprise know-how firm with little expertise in social media. And for a lot of Gen Z-ers — who make up a big a part of TikTook’s person base — Oracle is not precisely a family title. Carter Kench, an 18-year-old TikTook star with
2.four million followers, mentioned he’d by no means heard of it. “I still don’t know what it is,” he mentioned. “For some reason, I want to say it’s like a glasses company.”
TikTook users have skilled whiplash in latest months over the social platform’s future as the Trump administration has moved to
ban the app, which is owned by a Chinese firm, if it did not discover a US purchaser. That’s brought on a
panic amongst users, with many influencers scrambling to discover
viable alternate options and inspiring followers to comply with them on different social networks, just in case.
On Sunday, an individual acquainted with the matter advised CNN Business that TikTook and Oracle will associate in the United States — a deal meant to fulfill the Trump administration’s
nationwide safety considerations about the short-form video app. The actual nature of the settlement between TikTook and Oracle stays unclear, but it surely was not described as an outright sale. The deal should nonetheless be permitted by the Trump administration.
“I’m very thankful for it,” Ryan Kelly, a 25-year-old TikTook star with
2.three million followers, mentioned of a looming deal. “Since Covid happened, a lot of people have lost their jobs. For some of us, this is our only source of income. It’s a huge blessing if we’re able to keep it.”
Kelly has been furloughed from his job at Disneyland since March
and depends on TikTook as his supply of earnings. He works with manufacturers akin to Bumble and Vudu to promote their apps, and he is a part of
TikTook’s creator fund, the place influencers are paid primarily based on the quantity of views their movies obtain. “If it is a done deal, there is definitely a sense of relief and a sense of peace,” Kelly mentioned. While TikToker Kench likened a decision to “putting Aloe vera on a sunburn.”
But given Oracle’s ties to the Trump Administration, backlash is beginning to kind amongst some users. Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison is considered one of the few Silicon Valley tech moguls to again President Donald Trump. The billionaire
hosted a fundraiser for Trump earlier this yr, and in April joined a White House advisory group working to revive America’s economic system. Oracle CEO Safra Catz served on
Trump’s transition crew and donated $125,000 to the Trump Victory PAC in 2020, in accordance to information from the Federal Election Commission.
In TikTook movies and feedback, some users identified the connection between Oracle executives and Trump and voiced their disapproval. “To [sic] bad the company that bought TikTok actually supports Trump,” wrote a TikToker, adopted by one emoji rolling its eyes, and two crying faces. In one video, an individual commented, “TikTok is now owned by a Trump supporter.”
It’s not the first time TikTokers have been outspoken about Trump. Tens of 1000’s of TikTook users
trolled the Trump marketing campaign by reserving tickets for a Tulsa rally they didn’t attend.
But Walid Mohammed, a 20-year-old TikTook supervisor, believes whereas there could also be some backlash, most individuals will probably be blissful that TikTook lives on. He would not suppose Oracle executives’ ties to the Trump administration will forestall individuals from utilizing the app.
“People hate Mark [Zuckerberg] but we’re still all using Facebook,” he mentioned.
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