Oracle’s Ellison in TikTok Takeover: A Bid to Sway US Youth on Israel, Analysts Claim

A controversial plan to reshape American public opinion on Israel through the powerful algorithms of TikTok is reportedly underway, led by a powerful consortium of U.S. tech and political figures. According to a new analysis, the potential takeover of TikTok’s U.S. operations by a group including Oracle founder Larry Ellison is seen by some as a strategic move to tilt the digital information war in Israel’s favour.

As reported by The Nation’s David Klion, the consortium, which is set to take over TikTok’s U.S. operations amid a U.S. government push to divest the app from its Chinese parent company ByteDance, has a secondary objective: to shift the overwhelmingly critical opinions young Americans hold toward Israel.

The strategy, analysts suggest, would not rely on overt propaganda. Instead, the goal would be to subtly “redirect the anger” by manipulating the platform’s influential algorithm. This would involve promoting content that frames Israel not on its own merits, but primarily in comparison to its regional adversaries, like Iran or Hamas.

Journalist Ryan Grim, agreeing with this assessment, pointed to internal surveys commissioned by the Israeli Foreign Ministry. These surveys allegedly found that global public opinion, particularly among younger demographics, is deeply negative toward Israel. However, this perception softens significantly when Israel is presented in a comparative frame against specific actors. The proposed algorithmic shift would therefore seek to engineer this comparative context at a massive scale.

The reported involvement of Larry Ellison, a known ally of both former President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, adds a layer of political significance to the business deal. Ellison has a history of financially supporting pro-Israel causes, making the alleged geopolitical dimension of the TikTok takeover plausible to observers.

This development raises profound questions about digital sovereignty and information integrity on a global scale. For a Pan-African audience, where the control of digital platforms and their algorithms is a pressing issue, the case highlights how tech giants can become pawns in international geopolitical conflicts. The ability of a powerful consortium to potentially manipulate a platform used by millions to shape narrative and perception sets a concerning precedent for digital public squares worldwide.

The unfolding situation with TikTok in the U.S. serves as a critical case study. It underscores that the battle for the future is not just over who owns the pipes of the internet, but who controls the code that decides what billions of users see, think, and feel.