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TikTok may soon be made illegal in the US, but while you can still swipe away, I’d encourage you to examine an interesting phenomenon around France. If you aren’t aware, millions upon millions of people have been protesting throughout France – mainly about raising the pension age. Riots, burning streets, garbage everywhere, and it’s hardly garnered any mainstream US press. You know where I’ve learned the most about it? TikTok.
Needless to say, searching on TikTok gives a potential tourist valuable information you aren’t seeing elsewhere.
Personally, I think the “France” phenomenon highlights what I believe is the driving motivation of the TikTok ban…information. Information that perhaps isn’t conducive to favorable viewpoints of those we’ve elected to serve us, and information that has been stymied elsewhere. Since the beginning of 2020, TikTok has been a source of a ton of information I’d never have been exposed to, it’s forced big Tech to reformulate algorithms, and shined a light on some dark corners otherwise kept neatly clandestine.
I’m not here to argue that TikTok is, or isn’t, collecting your data, or whom they are sending it to. I’d assume they absolutely are, but so is every other app, and so are all the 3 letter agencies of uncle sam. But, what I fear, is that TikTok is being scapegoated, adversarially pinned to geopolitical foes, in order to push through draconian legislation that yields unprecedented power to the executive branch via the Restrict Act.
If you haven’t read critiques of the Restrict Act, I’d urge you to do so.
But…what about France? Here is a side by side of searching “France on TikTok vs Instagram”
This is a viral trend on TikTok right now, and it’s pretty crazy the difference. If you scroll down on TikTok it’s just one video after another about the protests, riots, on the ground video, etc. TikTok is the most downloaded, used app that concentrates on attention and it’s algo feeds a ton of what’s happening in France…so clearly it’s quite remarkable.
The contrast on Instagram.
If you search and scroll on Instagram it’s nothing, but posed, pretty insta pics and videos of the perfect Parisian, wine country, or coastal holiday. I swiped 10 times to refresh downfeed and not a single image or video on what’s happening appeared on Instagram.
What do you think is causing such a stark contrast in search results?
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 60k points after $4k spend in 3 months
- Worth $750 in Chase Travel℠ and way more if you maximize transfer partners
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2024
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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