TikTok

Facebook teaming up with a major Republican consulting firm to turn public opinion against their fiercest rival reeks of desperation ... so says Taylor Lorenz.

The Washington Post columnist joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday to break down her bombshell report on the ways in which Mark Zuckerberg's FB and Meta are playing dirty in their war with TikTok.

Taylor says Facebook looks incredibly weak for paying operatives at Targeted Victory -- a GOP consulting firm -- to carry out a calculated smear campaign to damage TikTok's standing in America and drive teens over to their social media platforms.

As for the Republican role in all this, Taylor says Targeted Victory is trying to drum up anti-Chinese sentiments and link TikTok to the Chinese government because the app is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance.

But, she says there's no evidence TikTok is in bed with Communist China ... despite claims by former President Donald Trump and others in the GOP.

Facebook is determined to beat out its biggest rival, TikTok ... going so far as to hire a major political consulting firm to smear its competitor with an elaborate nationwide campaign.

Facebook's parent company, Meta, is paying Targeted Victory -- a GOP consulting firm -- to turn Americans against TikTok and ultimately steer young users back to FB ... according to the Washington Post.

In an internal email obtained by WaPo, one of the firm's directors says Targeted Victory needs to "get the message out that while Meta is the current punching bag, TikTok is the real threat, especially as a foreign-owned app that is #1 in sharing data that young teens are using."

The firm's tactics include targeting TikTok through op-eds and letters to the editor in regional news outlets, recruiting politicians, political reporters and public relations firms to help turn the public against TikTok and planting negative stories about the Chinese-owned app.

You might have seen some of the negative press ... like stories about the so-called "slap a teacher" TikTok challenge, which actually started on Facebook.

Targeted Victory is a huge digital consulting firm within GOP circles ... receiving $237 million in Republican campaign spending during the 2020 election cycle. It's unclear how much Meta is paying the firm.

Two of the biggest TikTok stars on the planet will NOT join forces to dominate the social media app ... 'cause JuJu Smith-Schuster says a collab with Patrick Mahomes' lil' bro, Jackson is straight-up "not happening."

Jackson -- who has 1 MILLION followers on TikTok -- was extra hyped when the Chiefs signed Smith-Schuster to a one-year, $10.75 million last week ... saying, "Now we have to collab ..."

Of course, JuJu has a whopping 3 million followers ... and considering Jackson basically lives on the app, it couldn't have been more convenient and fitting for the two to link up.

Well, Smith-Schuster thinks otherwise -- when he was asked about teaming up with the 21-year-old during an interview with Taylor Bisciotti, he shut it down -- real quick!

"Nah," Smith-Schuster said. "That is not happening."

"I'm putting that out there right now, I'm not making no TikToks."

Unsure if he meant in general, or just with Jackson ... 'cause the 25-year-old posted two new TikToks in his new Chiefs jersey right after the interview.

Forget whoever comes up in Google, Soulja Boy is the original creator of TikTok ... at least, according to the rapper himself.

The "Crank That" rapper sat down with Raq on the "It's Tricky With Raquel Harper" podcast and talked about all things TikTok ... and the impact he feels he's made on the app.

Big Draco (partially) joked around saying, he created TikTok and the folks making money behind the app need to pay up. As you know, TikTok has had huge success, reaching 1 billion users.

Many songs go viral with choreographed dances on the app ... a trend Soulja says he started back in 2007 with his hit single "Crank That (Soulja Boy)." And, while he didn't quite create the app ... he raises a fair point.

All in all, though, Soulja says he's a fan of the app. He added, his song "She Make It Clap" was only able to reach new heights because of TikTok ... like climbing to no. 1 on Billboard, getting him a record deal and prompting some of Hollywood's biggest names to listen and whip out their dance moves.

Of course, it hasn't been all easy breezy for Soulja. You'll recall, he got the boot from Kanye's "Donda" album ... and Ye even trashed his verse in an interview. Eventually, they ironed out their beef and SB joked it all off.

Though he may have had some trouble getting a hit with Ye, it seems TikTok surely has welcomed him with opened arms ... and he's had huge success.

Michael Bublé may be best known for his vocals, but now he jokingly says he could ditch his singing career for TikTok ... after newfound success on the app.

The Canadian singer joined "TMZ Live" and talked about working on his upcoming 11th studio album and  ... a possible TikTok career!

Michael has had worldwide success since dropping his debut, self-titled album in '03. In January, he dropped his single "I'll Never Not Love You" ... which is a sequel to his 2009 hit "Haven't Met You Yet."

So far, he's sold 75 million albums, but he believes his latest one "Higher" is his best one yet. Although the album is slated for Friday, Michael is very excited about another hobby he's seemingly mastered overnight -- TikTok.

He tells us, he loves interacting with fans on the app, but it's more important for him to try to get more followers than his wife ... only partially joking. Back in September, he got an impressive 31.5 million views on his first video, after his wife convinced him to join.

Bublé has garnered 1.7 mil followers and 14.7 mil likes ... but, insists his wife is still winning the competition. Luckily though, he knows quite a bit about winning ... with 11 Grammy noms and 4 wins since '08.

As for "Higher", Michael says he got the help of some famous friends … including Paul McCartney, who gave his blessings for him to cover his song -- "My Valentine." Paul ended up working on the entire album and being accredited as a producer.

MB says Paul came to play, and he simply "has the ability to take good and turn it into great."

The TikToker who went viral after claiming a disastrous chemical peel left him with serious facial burns has now lawyered up, and he wants a boatload of cash.

Neyo White's attorneys, Fisher, Klein & Wolfe LLP, have fired off a demand letter to Diamond Facez Skin Care Bar in Atlanta, GA -- laying out their case in pretty simple terms ... pay up, or get ready to fight it out in court.

In the correspondence obtained by TMZ, White's lawyers say their client suffered 2nd-degree burns as a result of a botched procedure ... which they blame entirely on Diamond Facez.

FK&W say White has had to travel to L.A. to meet with dermatologists in hopes of repairing the damage, which they say has been costly and painful on a physical and emotional level.

Because DF allegedly screwed up, White and co. are asking for $10,000.

You'll recall ... White recounted his ordeal to us, saying he was reassured by the staff at the time that all would be well in the end -- and yet, he claims it turned out to be anything but that.

It's no surprise things are getting litigious ... Neyo had already told us he planned to sue, and now -- it seems he may end up following through on that. We're told he also plans to fly to LA to visit Dr. Jason Emer, where he hopes to correct the burn damage.

Patrick Mahomes wasn't the only Mahomes getting a big, public kiss in this month ... his brother, Jackson Mahomes, just starred in a TikTok video where he smooched a famous social media star.

Jackson shared the footage on his Instagram page Wednesday night -- and it's pretty steamy.

Vibing to Kevin Gates' "Thinkin' with My D***," TikTok star Blaneoh began the video on screen -- before Jackson lightly pushed him out of the way to stand next to Dayna Marie.

If you're not familiar ... 21-year-old Dayna is HUGE on social media, she has nearly 7 million followers on TikTok and over 1 million followers on Instagram.

In the footage, Jackson can be seen laying a big kiss on her -- before everyone eventually left the screen and the camera cut off.

No word if everyone was just having fun -- or if this is the start of a new relationship for Jackson. But, either way, it's been a notable past few days for the younger Mahomes.

He was just Patrick's best man at the Chiefs star's wedding in Hawaii last weekend, and his social media presence has ballooned even further following Patrick's big day.

'SNL' managed to walk the line Saturday night, with a hilarious cold open about TikTokers making the trek to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., advising the Prez on how to fight the Russians.

The premise -- President Biden meets TikTok stars in the Oval for a brainstorming meeting on how to fight the Russian disinformation campaign and Putin himself.  After all, these are influencers, so maybe they can influence the right folks.

It's actually a real thing ... White House officials briefed 30 social media influencers this week about the Russian invasion.

Well, in the skit, a CW actress goes all AnnaLynne McCord and suggests the best way to tame Putin is with a poem.

Not to be outdone, another TikToker suggests the solution is a prank ... throwing Putin down a flight of stairs.

Another influencer seems to swing far right, as she suggests Hunter Biden started the war.

There's a hysterical mix-up when a dude named Charles D'Amelio said he didn't know why he was there, but he assumed they meant to invite Charli. Honest mistake ... on his way out he asked if there were any extra stimi checks.

And then the influencer with the plunger ... you just gotta watch it. Super funny.

Addison Rae is either UFC's newest live event reporter, or she's trolling hard -- or perhaps both ... because she's touting what seems to be a new on-camera gig, which has got a lot of journalism student advocates pissed.

The TikTok star posted photos of herself at what seems to be a UFC event -- perhaps a teaser to Saturday's UFC 264, where McGregor and Poirier are set to face off -- but it's unclear where or for what exactly. In any event, Addison made it seem like she'd been hired.

As she posed all dolled up on the red carpet with a UFC tarp behind her, she wrote ... "I studied broadcast journalism in college for 3 whole months to prepare for this moment."

Definitely a tongue-in-cheek caption, we're sure ... or so it seems. Addison appears to be poking fun at the fact that she dropped out of LSU -- where she's said to have been studying journalism -- to pursue her social media career (which was obviously a good idea).

Although she thought it was funny ... a lot of people online didn't. Twitter users piled on top of her (digitally) for what they perceived as an unjust and unwarranted HR move on UFC's part ... assuming she's actually on their payroll. They suggested Addison was undeserving, as opposed to a journo student who slaved away for 4 years for an actual degree.

One guy wrote, "Should we hire someone who busted their butt through college, and genuinely loves UFC and is hungry for an opportunity in journalism?? Nah, let’s hire Addison Rae because she’s popular for 'throwing it back' on tik tok." Funny stuff, no doubt.

With that said, we gotta wonder ... are people are overreacting here??? Yes, while it may seem AR has little to no experience in the field, and perhaps isn't as skilled or trained as others who've studied this at the university level -- the truth is, UFC probably doesn't care.

At the end of the day, the company is in the entertainment biz -- and if bringing Addison on as a host helps 'em get eyeballs and sell PPV purchases for their product ... they're gonna do it!!! And, besides ... a hosting job like this really doesn't take much schooling anyway. 🤷🏽‍♂️

Charli D'Amelio and Chase "Lil Huddy" Hudson have more than 100 million TikTok fans combined, and millions of them seem to believe they're dating again ... but they're sticking to the friendship story.

We got the teenage TikTok superstars out Tuesday night at Craig's, as they hit the WeHo hot spot with friends to celebrate the release of Lil Huddy's new single "America's Sweetheart" ... for which Charli co-stars in the music video.

Yeah, so that's how the romance rumors got sparked ... along with the fact the duo's actually dated in the past.

But, both Huddy and Charli shot down the dating speculation separately, with the singer saying they're "just friends" and Charli -- a bit more energetically -- saying they're just friends ... "really close" friends.

Take that for what it's worth, kiddos.

BTW, the release party for Lil Huddy's new single was swarming with other popular TikTokers ... including Addison Rae and Charli's older sister, Dixie.

Forget fancy dinners with escargot ... there's a ton of free chicken nuggets waiting to be scarfed down by Charli and Dixie D'Amelio!!!

Here's the deal ... the TikTok stars almost got canceled after a million followers jumped ship following a family dinner that saw the sisters being bratty about the menu, specifically the snails. So, now they're getting what they really want ... dino nuggets!!!

The fine folks behind Charli and Dixie's preferred grub, Yummy Dino Buddies, tell TMZ ... they've seen the infamous clip of Dixie throwing up her escargot and Charli asking for dino nuggets instead, so they're hooking up the girls with coupons for the dinosaur-shaped nuggets!!!

The free nuggets are nice, but that's not all Charli and Dixie have coming -- we're told they're also getting Yummy Dino Buddies swag.

See kids ... if you complain about your private chef's food and act like a brat at the dinner table for the whole world to see, you get free stuff!!!

Charli D'Amelio's crying a river after tons of followers canceled her ... and now she's wondering if she should just quit TikTok after encountering her first major PR hurdle.

Here's the deal ... Charli, TikTok’s most-followed star, is losing followers at a rapid rate after posting a family dinner video that rubbed lots of folks the wrong way. In part of the video, she complained to YouTube star James Charles about only having 95 MILLION followers, and not 100.

Fans felt the comment was anything but humble, and now followers are jumping ship by the boatload -- as in more than 1 million people have left Charli's page -- leaving her in tears.

Fans are also pissed that Charli and her sister, Dixie, scoffed during their family's meal -- prepared by a private chef -- more spoiled brat behavior.

During her tear-filled post, Charli wondered out loud if she should stay on an app where there's so much hate. At least one person's got her back though, Aaron May, the chef, says things are getting blown out of proportion -- but the damage is clearly done with Charli.

TikTok stars could be the next cash cow for fast-food chains ... Charli D'Amelio is doing for Dunkin' what Travis Scott is doing for McDonald's.

Charli, TikTok’s most-followed star, has a new partnership with Dunkin' and we've learned it's already doing wonders for the company's bottom line ... much like the Travis Scott meal at Mickey D's.

Dunkin' started selling "The Charli" -- a cold brew with whole milk and three pumps of caramel swirl -- Sept. 2 and immediately saw a huge boost in sales and interest ... Drayton Martin, vice president of brand stewardship at Dunkin', tells TMZ.

We're told Dunkin set a record for daily users on its app the day "The Charli" launched, thanks to a 57% increase in app downloads, and within 5 days the coffee giant sold hundreds of thousands of Charli's signature drink. That's a lotta caffeinated kids on their phones.

Sounds like Charli made cold brews even cooler ... Dunkin' says they saw a 20% sales boost for all cold brews the day her drink debuted, and a 45% surge the next day.

Dunkin's chalking it up to the excitement the drink stirred up among Charli's massive social media following -- 88.3 million followers and over 6.7 billion likes on her TikTok videos. Call it the TikTok effect.

The numbers are in ... and it looks like companies are figuring out how to use celeb's massive followings as advertising tools.

Boxing superstar Ryan Garcia just caught the first L of his career ... and it wasn't at the hands of Tank Davis or Luke Campbell -- he got beat up by some TikTok stars!!!

Okay ... so, that's not true at all. BUT, the 22-year-old phenom *did* hit the gym with the uber-popular social media stars Dixie D'Amelio and Addison Rae on Wednesday ... and they all took part in the "Body Shot Challenge!!"

Of course, we've seen Garcia's viral trend in the past with guys like Logan and Jake Paul ... where they put on a body pad and take hits from the 20-0 fighter.

Only this time, Ryan put on the pads and let Dixie and Addison fire off some punches for a solid 6 seconds before begging for mercy!!

And, the Oscar goes to ...

Hey, we get it!! The video wouldn't be nearly as fun if Ryan didn't ham it up for the camera.

Fun fact: the trio has a combined 51.2 million followers on Instagram ... and 97.9 MILLION followers on TikTok.

Ya can't deny Dixie and Addison's skills, though -- both ladies can land a serious punch!!

Things have gotten way too personal for TikTok's most-followed personality, and after getting an online threat ... her family's hired round-the-clock security.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Charli D'Amelio got a scare on July 8 when someone posted on social media, claiming they were going to show up at her house.

No one followed through on that threat, apparently, but we're told cops are investigating. The situation alarmed Charli and her fam enough to hire cops to keep an eye on things.

Our sources say the family is paying the OT to have police officers surveil their property for the foreseeable future, because this isn't the first frightening incident they've experienced.

We're told Charli's also been the victim of multiple "swatting" calls, where random people have falsely reported an emergency at her home ... then authorities show up to nothing.