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Biden, British Olympians tap TikTok to court young fans

President Biden’s re-election campaign joined TikTok, launching during the Super Bowl in an attempt to target young voters. In a similar move, Britain’s Olympic team signed a partnership with the Chinese tech giant to grow their athletes’ fan base.

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Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies at a Capitol Hill hearing on child safety in Washington, D.C., Jan. 31, 2024. TikTok has become an important marketing tool for President Biden's reelection campaign and the British Olympic team.
  • By Sheila Dang and David Shepardson Reuters

U.S. President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign joined short-form video app TikTok on Feb. 11, using the NFL’s Super Bowl to kick off its new account to reach young voters ahead of the presidential election in November.

Similarly inclined, on Feb. 12, Britain’s Olympics team signed a sponsorship deal with TikTok to help grow its athletes’ online influence as strict Olympic rules on digital advertising are set to be loosened for this year’s Games in Paris.

President Biden’s campaign said in a statement it would “continue meeting voters where they are,” including on other social media apps like Meta Platforms’ Instagram and Truth Social, which is owned by former U.S. President Donald Trump. Mr. Trump, the Republican frontrunner in the presidential race, does not have an official account on TikTok.

Announcing the British Olympian deal on Feb. 12, Team Great Britain and Paralympics Great Britain said having TikTok as an official partner would help their athletes to connect with new audiences and grow their fanbase. Team Great Britain Commercial Director Tim Ellerton said he saw “a valuable opportunity to introduce a new generation to the magic of the Olympic Games.”

Last year, President Biden’s administration ordered government agencies to remove TikTok from federal government-owned phones and devices. TikTok has maintained that it would not share U.S. user data with the Chinese government and has taken substantial measures to protect the privacy of its users. The campaign is taking “advanced safety precautions” for its devices and its presence on TikTok was separate from the app’s ongoing security review, a campaign official added. 

TikTok was banned from British government phones in March last year over the same security concerns. TikTok at the time said bans like this were “based on fundamental misconceptions and driven by wider geopolitics.”

Under the Great Britain deal, TikTok will produce content following British Olympians in Paris and athletes will also feature in an advertising campaign across television, billboards, audio, and paid social media posts. The partnership comes as the International Olympic Committee plans to relax rules governing online advertising during the Olympics this year in a “pilot project” with the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry.

The video posted by the Biden-Harris HQ TikTok account made light of a fringe conservative conspiracy theory that the Super Bowl was rigged in favor of the Chiefs, in order for pop superstar Taylor Swift, who is dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, to announce an endorsement of President Biden. Amid rapid-fire questions asking the president to choose from one of two options, President Biden was asked if he was “deviously plotting to rig the season so the Chiefs would win the Super Bowl” or whether the Chiefs were simply just a good football team.

“I’d get in trouble if I told you,” President Biden joked.

By night on Feb. 11, the Biden-Harris HQ TikTok account had gained 10,900 followers.

This story was reported by Reuters and includes reporting by Helen Reid.

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