Mr. Beast bids on TikTok amidst teen arsonist chaos and Meta bribes

TikTok’s fate in the US is still undecided. YouTube stars and one teen arsonist are going to great lengths to ensure that the ban doesn’t go through, while big tech companies are looking to capitalize on TikTok’s downfall.

YouTube’s highest-earning creator, Mr Beast, is in talks about buying ByteDance’s platform, TikTok.

Mr Beast said on January 14th, 2025, that he has given in to public pressure and will attempt to save TikTok by buying the platform.

The next post said that, unironically, the YouTube star had “so many billionaires reach out” to Jimmy Donaldson (Mr Beast) about buying the platform – “let’s see if we can pull this off.”

Unironically I’ve had so many billionaires reach out to me since I tweeted this, let’s see if we can pull this off 🙌🏻

undefined MrBeast (@MrBeast) January 14, 2025

Mr Beast has officially entered the race to buy TikTok and has formed an investor group with entrepreneur Jesse Tinsley, the founder and CEO of Recruiter.com Ventures.

The international law firm Paul Hastings announced that it’ll advise the investment group led by Tinsley when it submits an "all-cash offer to acquire TikTok’s US operations.”

It’s unclear as to whether other big players have joined Donaldson’s and Tinsley's investment circle.

According to current US president Donald Trump, TikTok is worth $1 trillion dollars. However, without a permit to operate in the US, the platform is ultimately worthless.

Trump also said that he’s thinking of prompting someone to buy the platform. This person would then give 50% of the company to the US government in exchange for a permit.

While TikTok's fate hangs in the balance, other big tech companies are looking to “recruit” popular creators to abandon TikTok and seek refuge elsewhere.

Meta bribes popular TikTok creators (kinda)

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta is offering upwards of $5,000 to popular US creators to join Facebook and Instagram amidst the TikTok ban.

Meta’s “breakthrough bonus program” is aimed at creators who are new to Facebook and Instagram, i.e., creators who haven’t yet monetized on these platforms.

“In this program, you can earn up to $5,000 in Breakthrough bonuses for a limited time by sharing reels on Facebook and Instagram,” Meta said on its website.

However, there are some conditions. Creators must share at least 20 reels on Facebook and 10 Reels on Instagram within the first 30 days of accepting the T&Cs of the bonus program.

Creators must share content on 10 different days within the 30-day period and must share directly from each app using their selected Facebook and Instagram pages.

The content must also be original and follow Meta’s content monetization policies.

While big tech companies are doing their best to “incentivize” popular creators from TikTok in the wake of a potential collapse, citizens are making bold statements regarding their views on the TikTok ban.

Teen distraught over TikTok ban sets congress office ablaze

One teen has been charged after allegedly trying to burn down a congressman’s office. All because he was unhappy with the federal government's plan to ban TikTok.

Eric Toney, the Fond du Lac County District Attorney, filed a complaint against 19-year-old Caiden Stachowicz after the teenager allegedly attempted to burn down the office of Wisconsin representative Glenn Grothman.

The complaint alleges that Stachowicz attempted to burn down Grothman’s office because he didn’t like the congressman.

Specifically, Stachowicz aimed to burn down the building due to Grothman’s stance on the TikTok ban. Grothman voted “yes” to shutting down TikTok in the country, which, according to Stachowicz, violates his constitutional rights.

The charges brought against him are felony arson, making terrorist threats, attempted burglary, and property damage, AP reports. If he’s found guilty, he could face 50 years in prison.