Enemy meddling in U.S. elections has worried American leaders since our founding, but the threat today is without historical peer. The internet’s reach ignores oceans and borders, and the most popular social-media apps hammer users with a barrage of content. Our adversaries — particularly Russia, China, and Iran — love this vulnerability. Given the ham-handed Russian efforts to push Donald Trump’s candidacy in 2016 and 2020, both the Biden administration and congressional Democrats are on high alert for foreign interference in our domestic politics. To wit, the White House just extended an emergency declaration on propaganda and disinformation on digital devices.
Why then are many elected officials sleeping on the Chinese app TikTok, perhaps the most profound propaganda threat ever faced by American voters?
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