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The TikTok, Instagram and Twitter teens are going to save the world.
Can these si gin na kids in SG save SG from the PAP?
TikTok teens say they tanked Trump's comeback rally in Tulsa by reserving thousands of tickets then not showing up
Tom Porter
1 hour ago
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during his first re-election campaign rally in several months in the midst of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S., June 20, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis
President Donald Trump's rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Saturday, was billed as his big comeback from the crises that have beset his administration in recent months.
But instead of a packed 19,000 capacity stadium of cheering supporters, the president was greeted on Saturday night by the sight of rows of empty seats.
Attendance was so poor that the president had to scrap plans to make a speech outside the venue, where expected crowds of supporters who couldn't get into the stadium failed to show up.
On Twitter, Trump's campaign manager, Brad Parscale, blamed "radical protestors, fueled by a week of apocalyptic media coverage," claiming they stopped Trump supporters getting into the venue. Reporters at the scene said the anti-Trump protests in the city were relatively small.
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But the real reason for the poor showing maybe a viral campaign that's swept social media platforms TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter.
On the platforms, teenagers have been reserving tickets for the rally - with no plans of actually showing up.
Key to the campaign, reported The New York Times, is the huge online network of fans of Korean pop music — K-pop. In recent months, they have pivoted from celebrating their favorite groups and artists to political causes, such as swamping right-wing hashtags and raising millions for the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Trump campaign had called for supporters to sign up for a free ticket to the rally using their mobile phone in a June 11 tweet, and K-pop fan accounts urged people to do so to prank the campaign.
But it wasn't a teenager who played the key role in rallying support for the prank — but Mary Jo Laupp, a 51-year-old grandmother, living in Fort Dodge, Iowa. In a TikTok video that went viral, she urged people to take part, racking up hundreds of thousands of likes.
Laup told CNN last week she had worked on Democrat Pete Buttigieg's presidential campaign. It was Trump's initial decision to stage the rally on Juneteenth (a decision that he later reversed), the date marking the end of slavery, that inspired her to act.
On TikTok a meme has been spreading, where users post a picture of their Trump rally reservation ticket, which they don't intend to use, and dance to 1993 pop hit the "Macarena."
Parents on Twitter shared stories of their kids taking part in the viral campaign.
3,565 people are talking about this
"The teens of America have struck a savage blow against @realDonaldTrump. All across America teens ordered tickets to this event. The fools on the campaign bragged about a million tickets. lol," tweeted veteran Republican strategist Steve Schmidt.
Parscale had previously bragged of the huge turnout expected at the rally, tweeting on June 14 that the event was the "biggest data haul and rally signup of all time by 10x." The campaign uses data like mobile phone numbers used to sign up for tickets to target adverts and propaganda to supporters.
But in videos, K-pop fans and teenagers had provided tips on registering for the tickets with mobile numbers that weren't the ones they regularly use, to avoid being spammed by the campaign.
We may never know to what extent the viral campaign responsible for the Trump rally flop on Saturday. But it seems likely that a lot of that data haul Parscale boasted of won't be particularly useful to the Trump campaign.
Can these si gin na kids in SG save SG from the PAP?
TikTok teens say they tanked Trump's comeback rally in Tulsa by reserving thousands of tickets then not showing up
Tom Porter
1 hour ago
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during his first re-election campaign rally in several months in the midst of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S., June 20, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis
- President Donald Trump's big comeback rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday was a disappointment, with a relatively small number of supporters attending and rows of empty seats.
- On social media, teenagers and K-pop fans are claiming victory.
- In recent days they've been signing up to tickets for the event - with no intention of attending.
- In a viral TikTok meme, teenagers have posted images of Trump rally reservation tickets while dancing to the "macarena" pop song.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
President Donald Trump's rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Saturday, was billed as his big comeback from the crises that have beset his administration in recent months.
But instead of a packed 19,000 capacity stadium of cheering supporters, the president was greeted on Saturday night by the sight of rows of empty seats.
Attendance was so poor that the president had to scrap plans to make a speech outside the venue, where expected crowds of supporters who couldn't get into the stadium failed to show up.
On Twitter, Trump's campaign manager, Brad Parscale, blamed "radical protestors, fueled by a week of apocalyptic media coverage," claiming they stopped Trump supporters getting into the venue. Reporters at the scene said the anti-Trump protests in the city were relatively small.
Brad Parscale
✔@parscale
· 11h
Radical protestors, fueled by a week of apocalyptic media coverage, interfered with @realDonaldTrump supporters at the rally.
They even blocked access to the metal detectors, preventing people from entering.
Thanks to the 1,000s who made it anyway!https://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jun/20/anti-trump-protesters-interfere-presidents-rally-f/ …
Anti-Trump protesters ‘interfere’ with president’s r
The Trump campaign canceled planned outdoor speeches by President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence at their comeback rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday night after protesters
m.washingtontimes.com
YouTube @YouTube
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Steve Schmidt
✔@SteveSchmidtSES
https://twitter.com/SteveSchmidtSES/status/1274486428160811009
This is what happened tonight. I’m dead serious when I say this. The teens of America have struck a savage blow against @realDonaldTrump. All across America teens ordered tickets to this event. The fools on the campaign bragged about a million tickets. lol. @ProjectLincoln.
185K
7:36 AM - Jun 21, 2020
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49.1K people are talking about this
But the real reason for the poor showing maybe a viral campaign that's swept social media platforms TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter.
On the platforms, teenagers have been reserving tickets for the rally - with no plans of actually showing up.
Key to the campaign, reported The New York Times, is the huge online network of fans of Korean pop music — K-pop. In recent months, they have pivoted from celebrating their favorite groups and artists to political causes, such as swamping right-wing hashtags and raising millions for the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Trump campaign had called for supporters to sign up for a free ticket to the rally using their mobile phone in a June 11 tweet, and K-pop fan accounts urged people to do so to prank the campaign.
But it wasn't a teenager who played the key role in rallying support for the prank — but Mary Jo Laupp, a 51-year-old grandmother, living in Fort Dodge, Iowa. In a TikTok video that went viral, she urged people to take part, racking up hundreds of thousands of likes.
Laup told CNN last week she had worked on Democrat Pete Buttigieg's presidential campaign. It was Trump's initial decision to stage the rally on Juneteenth (a decision that he later reversed), the date marking the end of slavery, that inspired her to act.
On TikTok a meme has been spreading, where users post a picture of their Trump rally reservation ticket, which they don't intend to use, and dance to 1993 pop hit the "Macarena."
Parents on Twitter shared stories of their kids taking part in the viral campaign.
C.J. Chivers
✔@cjchivers
https://twitter.com/cjchivers/status/1274493581651324932
i have three teenagers. two of them have a pair of tix each to @realDonaldTrump’s rally in tulsa; they registered to spoof POTUS & his campaign. one of them is sitting at dinner now, laughing and saying teens around the united states fooled the man. https://twitter.com/parscale/status/1272191356845391875 …
Brad Parscale
✔@parscale
Just passed 800,000 tickets. Biggest data haul and rally signup of all time by 10x.
Saturday is going to be amazing! https://twitter.com/parscale/status/1271581845910704128 …
14.5K
8:05 AM - Jun 21, 2020
Twitter Ads info and privacy
3,565 people are talking about this
"The teens of America have struck a savage blow against @realDonaldTrump. All across America teens ordered tickets to this event. The fools on the campaign bragged about a million tickets. lol," tweeted veteran Republican strategist Steve Schmidt.
Parscale had previously bragged of the huge turnout expected at the rally, tweeting on June 14 that the event was the "biggest data haul and rally signup of all time by 10x." The campaign uses data like mobile phone numbers used to sign up for tickets to target adverts and propaganda to supporters.
But in videos, K-pop fans and teenagers had provided tips on registering for the tickets with mobile numbers that weren't the ones they regularly use, to avoid being spammed by the campaign.
We may never know to what extent the viral campaign responsible for the Trump rally flop on Saturday. But it seems likely that a lot of that data haul Parscale boasted of won't be particularly useful to the Trump campaign.
