Trending - The TikTok news revolution

TikTok became successful by being the app for watching viral dance videos. But with global downloads of the app recently topping three billion, it’s also increasingly a place where users are also going to find news - though not any old news.

While traditional media organisations are struggling to gain a foothold on the platform, a wave of fresh and diverse creators are finding innovative ways to present the news in a style that engages TikTok’s massive young audience.

Trending explores the potential and the pitfalls of news on TikTok. We hear from the journalist who makes comedy videos in which he plays a Covid-19 variant and his dad. And we meet the man who is the biggest star in TikTok news - who despite his fame still has to work other jobs to make ends meet.

Presenter: Jonathan Griffin
Reporter: Abbie Richards
Producer: Matt Munday
Editor: Ed Main
Photo: Collage of TikTok news creators
Photo credit: BBC/TikTok

Published on Saturday, 31st July 2021.

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