Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has joined TikTok, the short video social media platform that is owned by China-based tech giant ByteDance and that he tried to ban as president, ahead of the US elections in November.
Politico, which first reported the news, said he posted a launch video on his account on Saturday night. The video showed Trump greeting fans at an Ultimate Fighting Championship fight in Newark, New Jersey.
The account, President Donald J. Trump with the address @realdonaldtrump, had more than 450,000 followers by 0800 GMT.
ByteDance is challenging in courts a US law that came into effect in April requiring it to sell TikTok by next January or face a ban. The White House says it wants to see Chinese-based ownership ended on national security grounds, but not a ban on TikTok.
TikTok has argued that it will not share US user data with the Chinese government and that it has taken substantial measures to protect the privacy of its users.
Trump’s attempt to ban TikTok in 2020 when he was president was blocked by the courts. He said in March that the platform was a national security threat but also that a ban on it would hurt some young people and only strengthen Meta Platforms’ Facebook, which he has strongly criticized.
President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign joined the app in February.
Donald Trump joins the TikTok video platform he once sought to ban
https://arab.news/j5faa
Donald Trump joins the TikTok video platform he once sought to ban
- The account, President Donald J. Trump with the address @realdonaldtrump, had more than 450,000 followers by 0800 GMT
Arab News wins 7 prizes at European Newspaper Awards, led by 50th anniversary coverage
- Anniversary special coverage and film won four Awards of Excellence across multiple categories
LONDON: Arab News won seven prizes at the 27th European Newspaper Awards — four for its 50th anniversary coverage and three for other projects — bringing its total to 160 awards since the 2018 relaunch.
The anniversary coverage earned an Award of Excellence in “Supplement for special occasions and anniversary editions,” plus wins in “Multimedia storytelling” for its special web section and two in “Film” and “Animated films” for its documentary.
Additional honors went to the “Spotlight — 2024 in Review” and “Opinion — 2024” print series in the “Sectional front pages nationwide newspaper” category, and a “Visualization” prize for an image from “Opinion — 2024.”
Launched in 1999 by organizer Norbert Kupper, the awards celebrate print and digital innovation. This year’s contest drew newspapers from 22 countries and more than 3,000 entries across 20 categories, despite fewer print submissions due to rising editorial collaborations.
“It’s testament to the skill, versatility and collaboration between the creative and editorial teams at Arab News that the seven awards at this year’s ENAs spanned print, digital and film categories,” commented Omar Nashashibi, head of creative design at Arab News. “These wouldn’t be possible without the world-class contributors we partner with, and the leadership, vision and support of Editor-In-Chief Faisal J. Abbas.”
Creative Director Simon Khalil called the film wins especially meaningful. “This recognition means a great deal because this film was never just about marking an anniversary, it was about capturing a defining moment in the evolution of Arab News and the region it represents.
“Telling the story, and drama of the 2018 relaunch, the digital transformation, and the courage to become ‘The Voice of a Changing Region’ was both a responsibility and a privilege.”
Past highlights include the “King Charles III Coronation” special coverage, “Kingdom vs. Captagon” investigation and FIFA Qatar World Cup 2022 special edition.
See more award-winning projects at arabnews.com/greatesthits.
