As I wrote last week, the new TikTok ban has found surprising footing in the U.S. House of Representatives, presenting a very viable threat to the app and its users within the United States. Due to its dubious security claims, suspicious political context and subtle corporate interference, the bill has created a firestorm of controversy and incredible anger towards politicians from younger generations in opposition of the bill. This is the story of Jeff Jackson, one of the most important characters in the drama of the TikTok bill, and how he reveals a key theme about the nature of politicians. They’re all liars.
Jeff Jackson is a congressman that has represented North Carolina’s 14th district since 2023 who gained significant popularity online after creating a TikTok account where he communicated the political happenings of Washington in a calm, respectful and “honest” manner. He steadily cultivated an image of a politician who was truly working for the public good, not bought out by corporate interests, and who just wanted people to understand and be aware of important issues in politics. His strategy was extremely successful, as Jackson quickly gained 2.5 million followers on the app, an impressive amount for a rookie Congressman without much power or history. It has also given him a significant base upon which to move up in the political world. Jackson recently launched his campaign for North Carolina attorney general after his current district was gerrymandered off the map. It is easy to see that Jackson owes a significant amount of his success to TikTok. He has gained the love of a younger generation, attracted national media attention and made a strong image of being an honest, trustworthy person fit for office. In a situation like this, all he had to do was not mess it up.
Yet, Jackson has come under fire recently for his decision to vote in support of the TikTok ban, and his justification of it in two videos he posted to his TikTok account afterwards. In his first video, which has now been taken down, he explained his decision and Congress’ collective fears of Chinese interference while also making the claim that the chance of it actually getting banned was very low. The video received millions of views and the backlash was strong. Immediately, people were unhappy with him justifying his decision by explaining that he has access to classified congressional briefings on the topic. This did not sit right with many users, as it asks for them to have blind trust in the fact that this is the right decision being made because of information they do not know. Many users also recognized the hypocrisy of the man who gained everything from TikTok voting to get rid of it, as well as the downplaying of the threat to the app by misrepresenting the bill as a “forced sale” (a problem I discussed more in depth in my column last week). Although he did post an apology video addressing the perception of him being a sellout, users were not impressed by his continued commitment to supporting the bill. In total since then, he has lost over 200 thousand followers and many videos have been posted by other users calling for more people to leave him in the past.
At the end of the day, this is politics, the way that Washington works is not conducive to honesty. What makes a good politician is the ability to market, to raise funds, to negotiate and be reelected by any means necessary. It is a game that requires a compromise of values to succeed. This is because power is ultimately not in the hands of the people or a politician’s ability to represent them well, but rather in money and resources. The pursuit of this type of power is often against the interests of constituents, and it is why a good politician may not be an honest representative. It is the result of decades of campaign finance changes, political party growth and the growing opportunity for self-benefit while in office. So the more power you need to move higher up in the political world, the more you must skirt your personal values, and those who aren’t willing to do so will ultimately fail to move forward in Washington. While politicians are ultimately meant to represent us, it is always important that people maintain a healthy level of skepticism for those in power. The distance between home and Washington is dangerous for politicians, and it is always important to remind them where their power comes from.