Forward of TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew’s much-anticipated testimony in the USA Home of Representatives immediately, the embattled tech agency performed a full-court press on Capitol Hill. This included paying to convey TikTok influencers face-to-face with their house state lawmakers, staffers, and journalists, in addition to sharing their journey with their collective viewers of some 60 million followers. 

TikTok lined journey, resorts, meals, and shuttle rides to and from the Capitol for dozens of influencers, in response to the creators and the corporate itself. Every social media star was additionally invited to convey a plus one—whether or not they flew in from Oklahoma, hopped the Acela from New York, or drove in from their suburban Washington house. TikTok spokesperson Jamal Brown confirms that “TikTok lined journey bills for all creators and a visitor.”

“Any boundaries to getting right here they helped cowl,” says Tiffany Yu, a Los Angeles-based influencer and incapacity advocate tapped to talk yesterday at a extremely orchestrated press convention beneath the Capitol’s majestic dome.

Whereas some influencers report paying their very own airfare to Washington, everybody we talked to took the free lodge. It’s unclear exactly what of us have been provided as a part of the journey to Washington, however seemingly everybody bought one perk or one other. Past the greater than 30 influencers in attendance, together with their journey buddies, WIRED counted 10 different individuals who have been, in a technique or one other, on the Capitol on behalf of TikTok.

“Greater than 150 million People, together with 5 million US companies, depend on TikTok to innovate, discover neighborhood, and assist their livelihoods,” spokesperson Brown says. “A US ban on TikTok may have a direct affect on the livelihoods of thousands and thousands of People. Lawmakers in Washington debating TikTok ought to hear firsthand from folks whose lives could be immediately affected by their selections.” 

The practically dozen influencers WIRED spoke with didn’t cover the truth that TikTok introduced them to Washington to assist the corporate. (The plan was first reported by Politico and The Data.) “They took us right here, however we’re not being paid,” says Jorge Alverez, a psychological well being advocate from New Jersey. TikTok “paid for transportation—that’s additionally public data.” 

Alexandra Doten, an knowledgeable in area communications who goes by @astro_alexandra on the app, relies close to Washington, DC. However she says she additionally acquired assist from the corporate. “I bought the lodge too!” she says. “I don’t know. They simply shuttle me there.”

Whereas Doten was capable of meet along with her congressman, Maryland’s Glenn Ivey, this week, the spotlight for her was assembly astronaut-turned-senator Mark Kelly of Arizona. She additionally bought a real style of life on the Capitol when the state’s different senator, Kirsten Synema, despatched a staffer to fulfill with the influencers on her behalf. It’s unclear if their goodwill tour will sway any of TikTok’s numerous congressional critics, who declare the app poses a risk to US nationwide safety.

Chew is the most recent in a line of Massive Tech executives who’ve needed to face hostile (if typically uninformed) lawmakers. However in contrast to Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg or Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai, Chew is the one CEO who has had know-how banned on US authorities units or been accused of being a puppet for the Chinese language Communist Occasion.