Jeff Jackson has gained a huge following on TikTok, even though his content is not conventional viral material.
According to reporter Jake Lahut Jackson’s content is “not exactly the stuff of viral TikTok gold.” Nonetheless, the 40-year-old congressman has been able to gain 1 million followers on TikTok. He is more famous than other notable politicians like attorney generals.
There is nothing too interesting about his videos. He is usually seen sitting with a solemn face, wearing a t-shirt or a casual button-down, and talking about topics like military aid to Ukraine, Chinese-Taiwanese relations, committee assignments, and workings of a congressional office.
He is also not much concerned about using the right soundtrack or being aware of the TikTok – something most creators are cognizant of. According to Jackson, “What I wanted to do across the board with all my political communication was to give people a sense of what it was like to get elected to Congress.”
Things get a little messy here due to the strong resistance to TikTok by both republicans and democrats due to the app’s Chinese ownership. The app is considered to be a real security threat that jeopardizes data gathered from US citizens. It has been banned in many states and more voices urge to ban the app across the US.
Members of the government are not allowed to even have the app downloaded on their work mobiles and computers. Jackson said, “I agree that not allowing TikTok on government phones is a good idea. I keep the app on a non-government phone and that phone only has one app on it, and that’s TikTok.”
More about Jeff Jackson on TikTok
So far Jackson’s videos have gotten a great response because they fill in the lack of substantial political engagement. Short and straightforward clips about political affairs are what the audience wants and is not receiving.
However, audience preferences might have to sideline amidst the rising negativity towards TikTok. Michael Bennet (D-CO) recently wrote to Apple and Google to urge them to remove TikTok from their app stores.
