Social networks
“I won’t dance. I promise.” – Federal Government on Tiktok
Starting today, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz is giving an insight into his everyday work on Tiktok. photo
© Andreea Alexandru/AP/dpa
A look behind the scenes of the federal government – this is now possible on the new Tiktok channel @TeamBundeskanzler. But Olaf Scholz makes one thing clear: he won’t dance.
The federal government has its first under @TeamBundeskanzler on Monday Tiktok channel started. Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said they wanted to provide information about Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s work and provide a look behind the scenes of everyday government life. The federal government wants to appeal primarily to young citizens who hardly use traditional media anymore. Tiktok has more than 20 million German users and is the most used app among 14 to 25 year olds according to a survey by the market research institute Appinio at the end of 2022.
Scholz commented on X: “I don’t dance. I promise.” He was alluding to a statement made by his spokesman immediately after the 2021 federal election. At the time, Hebestreit had jokingly said about the use of social networks: “I can promise the Chancellor that he will soon be able to dance to Tiktok if we decide that together.” He then added: “The look (of the Chancellor) suggests to me that we will have a few more discussions.”
Safety concerns were carefully considered
Recently, several top international politicians started their own Tiktok channels, including US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron. The federal government initially ruled out the chancellor joining the social network operated by a Chinese company.
Now it is said in government circles that they have carefully weighed up the criticism that is legitimately leveled at Tiktok. In the fight against foreign manipulation attempts and disinformation, it is important to provide users with reliable, reliable and relevant information. That’s why they decided to also be present on Tiktok.
There are special security precautions for the operation of the @TeamBundeskanzler channel, such as separate devices without access to internal authority data. Employees of the Federal Press Office are not allowed to use the app on their work devices.