The Biden administration is tapping prominent TikTokers and other social media influencers to help court young voters as the Democrat gears up for reelection, according to a report.
The digital strategy team for President Biden is connecting with hundreds of influencers across the country who would promote the 80-year-old’s record in the Oval Office to help draw in voters, ages 18 to 29, who don’t already follow the White House or the Democratic Party on various online platforms, Axios reported.
The effort is reportedly spearheaded by staffer Rob Flaherty, who will lead four digital staffers in the White House and was named assistant to the president, which has the same rank as the communication director and press secretary.
Reaching young voters is so critical to Biden that social media influencers – who are unpaid – could have their own briefing room inside the White House to work in-person or remotely, according to Axios.
“We actually asked the White House, ‘When are we going to get press briefing passes,’” 20-year-old TikToker Harry Sisson told the outlet. “They were actually were very responsive to it.”
The NYU student has more than 663,000 followers on TikTok and delivers a brief report day’s biggest news events on the platform.
The White House also reportedly plans to connect with influencers who have local followings when Biden travels to a certain state.
Social media influencer Harry Sisson@harryjsisson
Ironically, the push comes the same time the White House has signaled its willingness to sign off on legislation that would ban TikTok or force its sale because of the platform owner’s ties to the Chinese government and fears it has access to the platform’s user data.
Last September, the White House got TikToker Daniel Mac — who has gained a massive following asking drivers of nice cars what they do for a living — to ask Biden the same question at the Detroit Auto Show.
The clip of Biden’s answers, where he touted making more electric cars, was seen 38 million times on TikTok.
“We’re trying to reach young people, but also moms who use different platforms to get information and climate activists and people whose main way of getting information is digital,” White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jen O’Malley told Axios.
The move could help counteract the huge following former President Trump, who is running for president in 2024, has on some social media platforms.
Advocates say Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration is discriminating against disabled military vets by prioritizing convicted drug felons when awarding licenses to sell marijuana — and possibly violating the very law that legalized the sale of cannabis in New York.
“The whole veterans community is in an uproar,” said Carmine Fiore, chair of the Cannabis Association of New York’s Veterans Committee and a disabled Army vet.
The Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Action Act of 2021 that legalized the recreational sale of weed designated five “social and economic equity” classes to get 50% of employment opportunities in the budding pot industry — covering those convicted of marijuana-related crimes and “service-disabled veterans,” as well as women and minority-owned businesses and “distressed farmers.”
But so far, the first 300 cannabis dispensary licenses have been set aside solely for applicants found guilty of a pot-related charge or related to someone swept up before the drug’s legalization.
“Only criminal applicants have been allowed to apply,” said Fiore, an FDNY emergency medical technician who served in the Army from 2008 to 2016.
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration is being accused of discriminating against disabled military vets by prioritizing convicted drug felons.Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy HochulThe Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Action Act of 2021 that legalized the recreational sale of weed designated five “social and economic equity” classes to get 50% of employment opportunities in the budding pot industry.AFP via Getty Images/ Kena BetancurCarmine Fiore, 38, who served in the army and as a FDNY EMT has not been able to get a license to sell marijuana.Stephen Yang
Fiore said Hochul’s administration — via the Office of Cannabis Management and state Cannabis Control Board — is passing over disabled vets and likely flouting the law by shutting them out.
“The OCM’s actions are not only biased and discriminatory against veterans, they are also potentially illegal,” he charged.
Fiore noted that OCM carved out a new “justice class” last spring, creating the Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (“CAURD”) license for applicants previously convicted of marijuana-related offenses.
“This license category was not included in the MRTA language,” he said, referring to the 2021 legalization legislation.
State officials have allowed ex-cons to “leapfrog” disabled vets under the special license, Fiore added.
While there could be overlap with other so-called social equity groups for the conditional licenses — such as women and minority applicants — disabled veterans are not included because individuals with drug convictions in most instances are ineligible to serve in the armed services, Fiore said.
He also said state officials eased the eligibility for the special licenses for ex-cons compared to the rules that apply to disabled vets and the other groups.
Disabled vets and women and minorities without a felony pot conviction must show that they have the finances necessary to operate and a lease secured for a property to open a weed dispensary.
But under the conditional licenses, ex-cons can be approved without money or a lease and obtain financing via a fund that would dispense business loans, Social Equity Impact Ventures, the group whose ownership included former basketball star Chris Webber. The financing program has largely been a bust, unable to raise the necessary funds to get the program off the ground.
The exclusion of disabled vets in getting the first licenses to sell weed is just latest controversy in the rocky rollout of the cannabis program.
“Only criminal applicants have been allowed to apply,” said Fiore, an FDNY emergency medical technician who served in the Army from 2008 to 2016.Stephen YangThe first 300 cannabis dispensary licenses have been set aside solely for applicants found guilty of a pot-related charge or related to someone swept up before the drug’s legalization.AP/Sue Ogrocki
An estimated 1,500 illicit shops are flourishing in the Big Apple alone by illegally peddling cannabis while not paying taxes, much to the chagrin of New York City Mayor Eric Adams and local law-enforcement officials. Meanwhile, only seven state-licensed marijuana stores have opened in the Empire State.
As part of ongoing state budget talks, the governor and Albany lawmakers are eying a crackdown on black-market weed sellers by dramatically increasing fines and making it easier to shut down rogue operators. Because of the current lenient penalties, illicit pot dealers got so brazen that they even opened up a shop right across from City Hall.
Lawmakers, meanwhile, are going to bat for the disabled vets, including stateSen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton (D-Staten Island/Brooklyn), who chairs the legislative body’s committee that oversees veterans services.
“We are concerned that the OCM is not following the MRTA as it is written,” Scarcella-Spanton said in a draft letter to Hochul that was being circulated among state senators.
Scarcella-Spanton said the law does not specify that formerly incarcerated individuals with pot convictions would “receive the right to apply [for cannabis licenses] before everyone else.”
She urged Hochul to open up the pool of applicants to include disabled vets and cancel the special program that licenses only those previously convicted of pot offenses.
“Those who have sacrificed to serve their country — especially those who have been injured because of their services or other worthy social equity groups — are currently being overlooked,” Scarcella-Spanton said.
An estimated 1,500 illicit shops are flourishing in the Big Apple alone by illegally peddling cannabis while not paying taxes.RETMEN/SIPA/Shutterstock
OCM, responding on Hochul’s behalf, defended giving ex-cons priority while saying it is in discussions with veterans about future licensing.
“The Office of Cannabis Management has conducted significant outreach to veterans and veterans groups, including meeting with the Cannabis Association of New York’s Veterans Committee, with Black Veterans for Social Justice, hosting a roundtable at the Veterans in Economic Transition Conference, hosting listening sessions across New York and numerous one-on-one conversations with veterans and advocates,” said spokesman Aaron Ghitelman.
“We will continue to engage with this incredibly talented and entrepreneurial community as we move forward – their voices will continue to be heard and reflected in all of our work.”
Saudi Aramco has notified at least two North Asian buyers that it will supply full contractual volumes of crude oil in January, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Friday.
Most buyers were allocated full volumes, one of the sources said.
The allocations come after Saudi Arabia raised its official selling prices (OSPs) for all crude grades sold to key market Asia for a second straight month in January, tracking robust gains in Middle East spot market last month.
The price hikes, announced by the company earlier this month, were implemented despite a decision by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia, a group known as OPEC+, to continue increasing supplies by 400,000 barrels per day in January.
January is the fourth consecutive month during which Saudi Aramco will give full allocations.
The producer maintained full term crude supplies in December.
Japan will consider government adoption of artificial intelligence technology such as OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot if privacy and cybersecurity concerns are resolved, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Monday.
The remarks from Matsuno, the top government spokesperson, came shortly before Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, met Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a visit to Japan, where Altman said his company is "looking at opening an office".
Asked about Italy's temporary ban on ChatGPT - developed by Microsoft Corp backed OpenAI - Matsuno told a news conference that Japan is aware of other countries' actions.
Japan will continue evaluating possibilities of introducing AI to reduce government workers' workload after assessing how to respond to concerns such as data breaches, Matsuno said.
Monday marks the most number of IPO debuts on a single day since November 15, 2021, when the Beijing exchange commenced operations with 10 listings. Five companies including Citic Metal and Zhongzhong Science and Technology will debut on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, while power generator Shaanxi Energy Investment will be among the other firms starting out on the Shenzhen bourse.
The 10 companies are in the spotlight as they are the first to go public after China decided in February to review all IPOs through a fresh vetting system that weighs applications on the basis of the quality of information disclosed instead of growth prospects. As part of a deepening reform of the country’s three-decade-old stock markets, the overhaul also scrapped an administrative cap on IPO prices, allowing new shares to move freely during the first five days of trading.
“The registration-based system will reduce direct interference from the government, and be helpful in boosting the efficiency of resource allocation,” said Liu Min, an analyst at Chasing Securities. “It will increase support from the stock market to the economy by widening fundraising access for small and medium-sized companies and streamlining approval processes.”
The 10 companies raised a combined 21.2 billion yuan (US$3.1 billion) from the offerings, with Shaanxi Energy raking in 7.2 billion yuan from the biggest of the 10 IPOs. Nine of them sold their shares at more than 23 times earnings, a cap previously set by the securities regulator to make sure no IPOs flopped, ranging between 26.3 times to 90.6 times, according to data by Eastmoney.com.
Citic Metal, a commodity trader backed by state conglomerate Citic Group, was the only firm to price its stock below the price-to-earnings ratio of 23 times, offering new shares at a multiple of 20.2 times, data shows. Shaanxi Energy sold its IPO stock for the highest multiple among the firms.
Jiangsu Evergreen New Material Technology, a maker of chemical products, drew the most enthusiastic response from investors, who ordered 3,690 times the stocks on offer, while Shaanxi Energy was the least sought-after, with the shares available for sale oversubscribed 125 times, Eastmoney.com data shows.
As part of the change in IPO rules, the 10 companies and other future mainboard listings can trade without any exchange-imposed limits on daily movements on the first five days of trading, a move that is expected to allow investors to fully explore stock values. A 10 per cent daily trading band will be put in place afterwards.
Market sentiment remains in favour of listings. Traders have returned to the market after some leading economic indicators showed that China’s recovery from the fallout of Covid-19 was still under way, driving up turnovers. The combined value of shares that changed hands on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges has surpassed 1 trillion yuan every day in April, spurring a call from Yingda Securities that local stocks are tipping towards a bull market.
The Shanghai Composite Index has risen 15 per cent from an October low. A gain of 20 per cent is seen by some technical traders as the market enters bull-market territory.
A total of 55 companies have completed listings on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges this year, as of last week. The best debut performer was MLOPTIC, a maker of optical components that surged 175 per cent on the first day of trading in Shanghai on March 9.
The worst performer was Hangzhou Guotai Environment Protection Technology, which slumped 13 per cent in Shenzhen on April 4, according to Bloomberg data.
