The forced takeover of TikTok by U.S. investors aligned with pro-Israel interests has been sold to the public as a “national security measure” to keep Americans safe from China. But when you peel back the layers, it becomes clear: this isn’t about protecting our data. It’s about controlling our minds. And for Black America, the implications are especially dangerous.

The messengers: Jimmy Dore and Max Blumenthal

This warning doesn’t come from the political establishment. It comes from Jimmy Dore, a comedian turned political commentator known for exposing bipartisan corruption, and Max Blumenthal, a veteran investigative journalist and editor of The Grayzone, who has long documented U.S. and Israeli disinformation campaigns. Both argue that Washington’s TikTok deal was never about China. It was about silencing dissent on Gaza and preserving U.S. support for Israel at a moment when younger Americans—including Black youth—are increasingly skeptical.

From “China threat” to “Israel safeguard”

The U.S. government justified the takeover of TikTok as a way to protect Americans from Chinese surveillance. Yet the restructuring handed the platform to Oracle, run by billionaire Larry Ellison—one of the most prominent financial backers of Israel. Dore and Blumenthal emphasize Ellison’s deep ties to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Ellison has hosted Netanyahu at tech events, praised Israel as a model for startups and military innovation, and funded pro-IDF charities. His son, David Ellison, has been linked to projects advancing Israel’s narrative abroad. In other words, TikTok’s algorithm—the heartbeat of what videos trend—is now in the hands of a company run by Netanyahu’s close ally.

Paid influence and propaganda pipelines

This isn’t speculation. Documents show that Israel has been paying influencers up to $7,000 per post as part of a campaign called the “Esther Project.” Managed by Bridge Partners, an American firm working with Israel’s Foreign Ministry, the campaign budgeted $900,000 in just six months to flood TikTok and Instagram with pro-Israel content. At the same time, Netanyahu’s office has signed a $45 million ad contract with Google to spread narratives denying famine in Gaza. Blumenthal points out that this isn’t isolated—it’s part of a broader media consolidation strategy: Ellison’s bid to influence Paramount and CBS News, and the recruitment of pro-Israel editors like Barry Weiss. When you combine algorithm control, paid influencers, and multi-million-dollar ad buys, you get more than bias. You get an information ecosystem engineered to enforce conformity.

Read: Israel paying influencers $7,000 per post in propaganda campaign: Report

The Gaza backdrop: a growing global disgust

This takeover happens against the backdrop of an escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Since October 7, the Israeli military campaign has killed thousands of civilians, including journalists, doctors, and children. Entire neighborhoods have been reduced to rubble, food shortages have tipped into famine, and UN officials have accused Israel of collective punishment. Around the world, including in Black America, outrage has grown over images of bombed hospitals and refugee camps.

On TikTok, young users circulated raw, unfiltered footage of Gaza’s devastation—challenging the sanitized narratives of mainstream media. That is precisely what the takeover seeks to stop. Dore and Blumenthal argue that TikTok was “too effective” at letting people see Gaza’s suffering, and that threatened to fracture U.S. support for Israel. Netanyahu himself reportedly told a group of influencers, “We have to take over TikTok to stop this revolt.”

Even figures once aligned with pro-Israel lobbying began to speak out. Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, who had been a paid spokesperson for pro-Israel lobbyists, admitted that his view of Netanyahu’s influence changed as he realized the extent of Israel’s grip on U.S. foreign policy. That kind of shift underscores how undeniable the perception of Netanyahu’s power has become.

At the same time, polling showed a stark generational divide. Americans under 30 increasingly opposed Israel’s war in Gaza, with many saying the assault on civilians was unjustifiable. This growing resistance among youth—cutting across race and party lines—is precisely why Israel and its allies see TikTok as a “problem” to be solved.

Why this hits Black America harder

Black voices have long depended on alternative platforms to bypass media gatekeepers—from the Black press to hip-hop to social media. TikTok and Instagram became crucial tools for amplifying police brutality, housing injustice, and demands for reparations. Now, with algorithms retrained by Ellison’s Oracle and influencers paid to drown out dissent, the danger is clear.

If Black America hasn’t noticed, TikTok has already become a battleground. Increasingly, there has been an anti-reparations rhetoric even from Black influencers, echoing the same talking points as Charlie Kirk and other pro-Israel scripted voices. They tell us reparations are “divisive” or “unrealistic,” even as Washington sends $8.3 billion every year to Israel without debate. The hypocrisy is glaring: billions for a foreign nation are “justified,” but justice for the descendants of slavery is portrayed as unreasonable.

Grassroots voices can be silenced. Propaganda posing as authenticity can overwhelm feeds. Surveillance can be normalized, especially through Ellison’s promotion of AI-powered policing and drones. And free thought can be engineered, as young Black users never even see dissenting ideas and instead are fed an algorithm designed to manufacture conformity.

Freedom of speech vs. freedom of thought

Free speech means the right to say what you believe. Free thought means the right to encounter ideas and shape your own conclusions. The TikTok takeover undermines both. For Black America, this is not just a foreign-policy issue—it’s a civil-rights issue. If they can silence Palestinian voices and distort Gaza’s reality, they can just as easily engineer what the nation sees and hears about Black America.

The bottom line

Jimmy Dore and Max Blumenthal argue that the TikTok deal is nothing less than a digital coup—handing one of the world’s most powerful platforms to political allies of Netanyahu, at the very moment Gaza’s civilian suffering is sparking outrage across the globe. For Black America, the warning is urgent: the fight for free speech is not abstract. It’s about whether our truths—about reparations, police violence, economic injustice, and liberation—will survive in an information ecosystem being bent to serve someone else’s agenda.

If Israel can rewrite Gaza’s story through TikTok, then America can rewrite ours.

Key References & Sources

PressTV report: “Israel paying influencers $7,000 per post in propaganda campaign: Report”
- This is the headline source for the claim that Israel is paying social-media influencers up to $7,000 per post as part of a coordinated effort. Press TV
- The article describes a $900,000 budget, 14–18 influencers, and invoicing via an American firm (Bridge Partners). Press TV
- It also references a $45 million Google ad campaign by Netanyahu’s office to push pro-Israel messaging denying famine in Gaza. Press TV+1
PressTV report: “New war zone: Netanyahu admits weaponizing social media, influencers in narrative battle”
- This supports the assertion that Netanyahu has explicitly treated social media as a “weapon” in his narrative war, especially in the U.S. context. Press TV
Reuters / mainstream reporting on the TikTok divestiture and Oracle’s role
- Reuters reports that Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX are among the group acquiring ~50 % of TikTok US under the new deal. Reuters
- Reuters also covered Trump signing an executive order to finalize the TikTok sale, with details about the algorithm being retrained and U.S. control. Reuters
- Reuters describes that Oracle is among the firms enabling TikTok to continue in the U.S. under U.S.-controlled ownership. Reuters
- Additional Reuters coverage discusses the structure of the deal: U.S.-based board, U.S. investors holding ~80 % stake, Chinese shareholders retaining a minority stake. Reuters+1
The Guardian / other outlets on Oracle’s role and the algorithm licensing
- The Guardian describes how Oracle will house U.S. user data and license TikTok’s recommendation algorithm as part of the deal. The Guardian
Israel’s secret influencer campaign
- The Jerusalem Post published a report titled “Israel’s secret influencer campaign exposed,” detailing contracts up to $900,000 and pricing schedules. The Jerusalem Post
Other corroborating sources
- Al Mayadeen’s English edition also picks up the influencer payout story, citing the Responsible Statecraft investigation. Al Mayadeen English
- A Breakingviews commentary in Reuters notes that ByteDance may retain a role in the new U.S. TikTok entity via licensing and revenue rights, complicating the divestiture narrative. Reuters
U.S. appeals court and constitutional / legal context
- Reuters reported that a U.S. federal appeals court upheld a law forcing TikTok’s sale or ban. Reuters
- The Supreme Court case TikTok, Inc. v. Garland (2025) is also relevant for legal precedent around forced divestiture and First Amendment arguments.