A clip from TikTok Chief Executive Officer Shou Zi Chew’s testimony before the U.S. Congress has been edited to include satirical audio.
The clip being shared includes video of Chew reacting while a narrator asks, “Mr Chew, can you assure me or can you at least tell me, if you turn on airplane mode on a phone, can TikTok talk to the plane?”
The text in one post (here) appearing to take the video seriously reads in part, “dude is being asked questions if tiktok can talk to the airplane in airplane mode... people in government need a basic understanding of technology moving forward. this entire hearing was hilariously humiliating for those asking the questions.” Another example can be seen (here).
The video has a TikTok watermark with the username “@barneyplease” and was shared on TikTok (here) on March 25, 2023.
The bio of the account (www.tiktok.com/@barneyplease) reads, in part, “cringe satire, parody, sketch life hacks and Eamon the cat.”
The clip appears to stem from when House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers was questioning Chew (see his facial movements around 26:56) (here).
The audio has been modified in the clips circulating online, as Rodgers was actually asking about CCP’s (CAN WE SPELL THIS OUT?) access to the platform at this time.
The word “airplane” does not appear in transcripts of the hearing (here) and (here).
Reports on how social media users shared videos on TikTok critical of Congress members after the hearing can be seen (here), (here) and (here).
VERDICT
Satire. The video has been altered to include the audio.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here .
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