In a 50-0 vote on Thursday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved a proposed law that would ban apps in the U.S. if they were tied to a foreign power. China-owned TikTok, chief among those in the bill’s crosshairs, organized a campaign to have users call their member of Congress; some of their users threatened to commit suicide and many others threatened to assassinate lawmakers. Those disturbing details were willfully omitted by the evening newscasts of ABC, CBS, and NBC.
David Muir, the anchor for ABC’s World News Tonight, offered up a 22-second long news brief with only the most basic of details:
Tonight, here in Washington, Congress pushing a bill threatening to ban TikTok in the U.S. unless it's sold by its Chinese parent company in six months. Lawmakers concerned about national security issues. It's now out of committee and the full House could vote as early as next week. TikTok, tonight, issuing a statement saying, “The government is attempting to strip 170 million Americans of their constitutional right to free expression.”
Notice how Muir used a quote from TikTok while only vaguely saying Congress was “concerned about national security issues” without going into any detail.
That was only marginally better than NBC Nightly News, which didn’t report anything about the story; nothing about Congress’s moves to ban dubious apps, let alone the threats they received.
Over on CBS Evening News, they lamented that the CCP-controlled app could soon be banned and lauded the call-in campaign. “Congress, which doesn't agree on much, took a big bipartisan step today toward banning TikTok in the U.S., and lawmakers are hearing about it from their constituents,” anchor Norah O’Donnell cheered.
Congressional correspondent Scott MacFarlane, who’s obsessed with January 6 and ‘threats to democracy,’ didn’t seem to care that the lives of lawmakers were being threatened. “The social media giant mobilized some of its estimated 170 million users to call their congressmen or congresswomen to object to new legislation that would require TikTok to find a new owner, divest itself from China-based ByteDance, or be banned from app stores in the U.S. And the wave of calls hit midday today,” he boasted.
Despite O’Donnell noting it was a bipartisan effort to ban the app, MacFarlane kept public ire directed at Republicans by only showing their reaction and comments (Click “expand”):
MAC FARLANE: Republican Congressman Ashley Henson of Iowa reposted a video of her manning the phones as she helped manage the calls.
REP. ASHLEY HENSON (R-IA): They’re spying on you.
MACFARLANE: A TikTok spokesman told CBS News only users over 18 years old were asked to call.
REP. DAN CRENSHAW (R-TX): Today, if you want to use your TikTok account, you have to put in your zip code so that TikTok can tell you which representative you should call. [Transition] Imagine when China wants to use it more nefariously. Imagine when they want to truly engage in psychological warfare against the American people.
He also lamented: “TikTok is famous for its viral videos, but within months, the music could stop.”
Contrast all of the broadcast network coverage with Fox News Channel’s Mark Meredith on Special Report; he noted the threat of suicide. “...the calls even came from middle schoolers who use the app daily if not hourly. One caller even saying they were going to kill themselves if the app was taken away from them," he informed viewers.
Contrast those reports with Fox News's Mark Meredith on Special Report. He reported:
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) March 8, 2024
"...the calls even came from middle schoolers who use the app daily if not hourly. One caller even saying they were going to kill themselves if the app was taken away from them." pic.twitter.com/pcrDBG0t8n
As for the threats of assassination, our friend Matthew Foldi, political reporter for The Spectator, reported that at least two members of Congress had threats made against their lives by TikTok fanatics. “We had a voicemail from last night where the caller said 'I'll kill you if you don't give me TikTok,'" he quoted a source in an X post. In another post, he warned that a different office had received “‘nearly a dozen’ death threats.”
MORE ASSASSINATION THREATS CONFIRMED: A DIFFERENT H0USE OFFICE TELLS ME THEY HAVE HAD "NEARLY A DOZEN" DEATH THREATS ISSUED AGAINST THE MEMBER OF CONGRESS BY @TIKTOK_US USERS https://t.co/idNWwV7QpH
— Matthew Foldi (@MatthewFoldi) March 7, 2024
The transcripts are below. Click "expand" to read:
ABC’s World News Tonight
March 7, 2024
6:46:35 p.m. EasternDAVID MUIR: Tonight, here in Washington, Congress pushing a bill threatening to ban TikTok in the U.S. unless it's sold by its Chinese parent company in six months. Lawmakers concerned about national security issues. It's now out of committee and the full House could vote as early as next week. TikTok, tonight, issuing a statement saying, “The government is attempting to strip 170 million Americans of their constitutional right to free expression.”
CBS Evening News
March 7, 2024
6:46:33 p.m. EasternNORAH O’DONNELL: Congress, which doesn't agree on much, took a big bipartisan step today toward banning TikTok in the U.S., and lawmakers are hearing about it from their constituents. Here CBS's Scott Macfarlane.
[Cuts to video]
SCOTT MACFARLANE: TikTok is famous for its viral videos, but within months, the music could stop.
The social media giant mobilized some of its estimated 170 million users to call their congressmen or congresswomen to object to new legislation that would require TikTok to find a new owner, divest itself from China-based ByteDance, or be banned from app stores in the U.S. And the wave of calls hit midday today.
Republican Congressman Ashley Henson of Iowa reposted a video of her manning the phones as she helped manage the calls.
REP. ASHLEY HENSON (R-IA): They’re spying on you.
MACFARLANE: A TikTok spokesman told CBS News only the users over 18 years old were asked to call.
REP. DAN CRENSHAW (R-TX): Today, if you want to use your TikTok account, you have to put in your zip code so that TikTok can tell you which representative you should call. [Transition] Imagine when China wants to use it more nefariously. Imagine when they want to truly engage in psychological warfare against the American people.
MACFARLANE: But the effort might have backfired. Just 48 hours after legislation was introduced, it passed unanimously, 50-0, minutes after debate began in the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee.
[Cuts back to live]
In a sign of the political disconnect, the White House supports this legislation but they have a watch party for the State of the Union tonight with TikTok influencers in attendance. The company, Norah, says this bill tramples first amendment rights.
O’DONNELL: That is so interesting, Scott Macfarlane thank you.
