Still seeking to win over young voters, the key to Joe Biden’s election in 2020, the White House briefed influencers on Thursday before the president’s annual State of the Union address.
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This discourse is a mainstay of the American political calendar, but it has struggled to remain relevant in the age of social media, particularly among young people who are largely disinterested in traditional politics.
This year’s speech is crucial for the 81-year-old leader, as his age has many voters doubting his ability to hold office and fight former President Donald Trump in the highly likely election rematch in November .
The presidential headquarters “hosts approximately 70 creators, publishers and influencers who together are followed by more than 100 million people across digital platforms, at several separate events yesterday and today,” said a responsible Thursday.
“The goal is to inform creators about the topics that will be covered in the State of the Union address and to reach audiences who are less present on traditional media,” he added.
For the first time, the annual speech will be broadcast live on Instagram (Meta), where the White House has 19 million subscribers.
The speech will also be available on Facebook (Meta) and on X (formerly Twitter), which has taken a decidedly right turn since Elon Musk bought it in 2022.
The White House did not mention TikTok, arguably the most popular app among young people.
On Wednesday, the presidency gave its support to a bill in the US Congress that would order ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, to separate from its platform.
This bill was the subject of a vote in the Senate committee on Thursday, arousing the anger of TikTok.
“This legislation has a predetermined goal: the total ban of TikTok in the United States…and the destruction of the livelihoods of countless creators across the country,” the company said.
TikTok also encouraged its users to call their representatives to complain. Offices of elected representatives of Congress have indicated that they are inundated with phone calls to this effect.
The White House has blown hot and cold with TikTok, torn between the service’s immense popularity among young and old Americans and the potential security risks it poses as a subsidiary of a company. Chinese.
Last month, Joe Biden made his first video on the platform, touching lightly on topics ranging from politics to the NFL championship game.
