The New York Times reported Sunday morning that “TikTok teens” and “K-Pop stans” said they had intentionally inflated the Trump campaign’s sense of demand for Saturday night’s rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Earlier in the week Donald Trump’s campaign manager Brad Parscale tweeted that there were over 1 million ticket requests. This boast led to planned events for an overflow crowd outside the BOK Center, which holds 19,000. Reports from inside prove that there was, in fact, a very low turnout, with Forbes totaling the count at under 6,200.
K-pop fans active on social media, particularly TikTok, are claiming some responsibility for contorting Trump’s expectations. The Times quotes YouTuber Elijah Daniel as saying “K-pop Twitter and Alt TikTok have a good alliance where they spread information amongst each other very quickly. They all know the algorithms and how they can boost videos to get where they want.”
A TikTok video from Mary Jo Laupp, who brands herself #TikTokGrandma, uploaded a video on June 12th that swiftly explains a strategy for securing tickets to the rally. It had over 2 million views and 700,000 likes Sunday morning.
New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was quick to comment on how the evening went down. She first issued a stern diss to Parscale, who tried to blame the meager crowds on, in part, “apocalyptic media coverage.” The Queens and Bronx congresswoman teased him, saying “you just got ROCKED by teens on TikTok.”
In a follow-up tweet she added a special recognition to “Kpop allies” for their “contributions in the fight for justice.” She concluded her message with a “relieved face” emoji.
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