With over 200 million active users, India was TikTok’s largest overseas market. Rural folks and farmers became social media influencers and celebrities. Mahesh Kapse is a viral TikTok star from Veni, a village 11 hours out from Mumbai. He rose to fame by speed painting Indian celebrities and international cricket players, gaining 1.2 million fans in a month, earning an income almost four times what his family earns from farming. However, Mahesh’s livelihood was threatened when local police clamped down on influencers who spread misinformation on the COVID-19 pandemic, like Riyaz Ali, with over 43 million followers, who released a video claiming that the pandemic was over. Incidents like this triggered a series of arrests by the Mumbai police. On June 29, 2020, India banned TikTok along with 117 other Chinese apps, in the wake of a violent border dispute with China. James Crabtree from Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy regards this as a move that influenced Donald Trump administration’s ban on TikTok in the US. Is the backlash against this Chinese-owned app necessary? How will the newfound livelihoods of influencers like Mahesh be affected? ALSO WATCH: Will India Tide Through The Coronavirus Crisis? | Insight | https://youtu.be/bio6j4yhfkM Are Your Apps Spying On You? | Talking Point | https://youtu.be/10S6bzSBmUM For more, SUBSCRIBE to CNA INSIDER! https://cna.asia/insideryoutubesub Follow CNA INSIDER on: Instagram: https://ift.tt/2C3sZiR Facebook: https://ift.tt/2PPEuNA Website: https://cna.asia/cnainsider
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