Formation | October 2020 |
---|---|
Founder | Aidan Kohn-Murphy |
Type | Nonprofit |
87-2835389 | |
Legal status | Non-profit advocacy organization; 501(c)(4) |
Location | |
Methods | Social media, Digital Organizing, Activism |
Membership | 500+ |
Acting Executive Director | Elise Joshi |
Staff | 15–20 |
Website | https://genzforchange.org/ |
Formerly called | TikTok for Biden |
Gen-Z for Change, formerly called TikTok for Biden, (Spanish: Gen-Z X el Cambio, formerly Gen-Z por el Cambio) is an American non-profit advocacy organization, founded in 2020 that uses social media to promote civil discourse and civil action among members of Generation Z. It consists of a core team of 15–20 people and a coalition of over 500 content creators and activists, and partners with influencers, activists and celebrities to produce multimedia content. Its advocacy addresses a wide range of topics such as abortion rights, COVID-19, student debt cancellation, climate change, income inequality, social inequality, foreign policy, voting rights, and LGBT issues. Collectively, Gen-Z for Change's members have 540 million followers and receive 1.5 billion monthly views on social media. [1] [2]
Gen-Z for Change has received significant news coverage for its activities, including a one-hour briefing with the White House for 30 prominent TikTok content creators about the United States’ strategic goals regarding the war in Ukraine (which was parodied by Saturday Night Live ), [3] [4] protests against companies such as Starbucks and Kroger for anti-union firings, [5] and abortion-rights advocacy following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June 2022. Olivia Julianna, one of Gen-Z for Change's political strategists, raised more than $2 million in donations to abortion funds across the country through the organization after U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz ridiculed her appearance in July 2022. [6] [7]
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The organization's account on TikTok was created in October 2020 under the name TikTok for Biden, to support Joe Biden during the 2020 presidential election in the United States. [8] The organization was renamed Gen-Z for Change in January 2021. [9]
In early March 2022, the presidency of Joe Biden enlisted Gen-Z for Change to help organize a briefing between senior administration officials and prominent social media influencers about the Russo-Ukrainian War. [9] The briefing was leaked to The Washington Post, which later inspired a sketch on NBC's comedy show Saturday Night Live. [10] [11] Prior to that, Gen-Z for Change partnered with the White House and United States Department of Health and Human Services to combat COVID-19 misinformation and promote vaccination efforts. [12] Although the organization has regularly criticized the Biden administration, some have worried about their close ties to each other. [9]
In late 2023, Gen-Z por el Cambio was established as a section dedicated to Latino and Latin American perspectives on issues like immigration. [13] It is now called Gen-Z X el Cambio.
In March 2024, Gen-Z for Change, with organizations like March for Our Lives, Sunrise Movement, and United We Dream Action, submitted a petition to Biden regarding U.S. democracy, climate change, and immigration. [14]
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TikTok, whose mainland Chinese counterpart is Douyin, is a short-form video hosting service owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from three seconds to 10 minutes.
Social media was used extensively in the 2020 United States presidential election. Both incumbent president Donald Trump and Democratic Party nominee Joe Biden's campaigns employed digital-first advertising strategies, prioritizing digital advertising over print advertising in the wake of the pandemic. Trump had previously utilized his Twitter account to reach his voters and make announcements, both during and after the 2016 election. The Democratic Party nominee Joe Biden also made use of social media networks to express his views and opinions on important events such as the Trump administration's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the protests following the murder of George Floyd, and the controversial appointment of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
The Hype House is a collective of teenage TikTok personalities based in Moorpark, California, as well as the name of the mansion where some of the creators live. It is a collaborative content creation house, allowing the different influencers and content creators to make videos together easily.
Bryce Michael Hall is an American social media personality and bare knuckle boxer. He is most known for his videos on TikTok and YouTube. As of October 9, 2023, his TikTok account has 24 million followers, and his YouTube channel has 3 million subscribers.
Devin Patrick Caherly, is an American social media personality most known for his content on TikTok.
Avani Gregg is an American social media personality who first developed a following on TikTok. She plays Gemma in the web series Chicken Girls. She received the Shorty Award for TikToker of the Year in 2019, and was on the Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2020 in the social media category.
There is evidence that TikTok has down-weighted the posts of topics deemed sensitive by the Chinese government and Chinese Communist Party. Topics alleged to have been censored by the platform include the Persecution of Uyghurs in China, the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, the Sino-Indian border dispute, foreign political leaders, LGBTQ+ people, disabled people, and people of African descent. TikTok has also removed or omitted information from its services to comply with company policies, legal demands, and government censorship laws. TikTok's responses to claims of censorship have varied, responding that the platform was attempting to protect users from bullying, arguing that certain instances were the result of human error, and stating that such incidents were the result of algorithmic mistakes.
Paige Hennekam, better known as Paige Layle, is a Canadian activist and eyelash technician who is known for her work in ADHD and autism acceptance. First diagnosed with autism as a teenager, she began posting about her experiences on social media in March 2020 and has since gained a large following on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Khabane "Khaby" Lame is a Senegal-born Italian social media personality. He is known for his TikTok videos, in which he silently mocks overly complicated "life hack" videos. In 2022, he was listed in Fortune's 40 Under 40 and Forbes' 30 Under 30. He also served as a juror on the 2023 edition of the television show Italia's Got Talent. As of 2024, he is the most-followed user on TikTok.
BookTok is a subcommunity on the app TikTok that focuses on books and literature. Creators make videos reviewing, discussing, and joking about the books they read. These books range in genre, but many creators tend to focus on young adult fiction, young adult fantasy, and romance. The community is cited with impacting the publishing industry and book sales. The creators in this community are also known as BookTokers.
Wisdom Kaye is a Nigerian-American model and social media personality known for his fashion-related posts. As such, Vogue considers him "TikTok's best-dressed guy".
Aaron Gideon Parnas is an American lawyer and democratic activist. Parnas is the son of Lev Parnas, known for his role in the Trump-administration Trump–Ukraine scandal. Parnas, who was once a staunch Republican and supporter of President Donald Trump, has since become an activist in support of the Democratic Party.
Hyram Yarbro is an American skincare influencer known for his Skincare by Hyram videos on YouTube and TikTok. His videos consist primarily of product reviews, skincare advice, and reactions to celebrity skincare routine videos. In 2021, he launched his skin care product line, Selfless by Hyram, with Sephora.
Gina L. DiVittorio is an American writer, comedian, and political commentator. She is best known for The Pocket Report, a satirical news web series focused on American politics and society that she writes, performs, and edits, and a viral video about the dating app Hinge.
Aidan Kohn-Murphy is an American social media content creator and political activist. He is the founder of Gen-Z for Change, a non-profit advocacy organization that uses social media to promote civil discourse and political action among members of Generation Z.
Dylan Mulvaney is an American social media personality who has detailed her gender transition in daily videos published on TikTok since early 2022. She gained a higher profile after her interview with U.S. president Joe Biden at the White House, during which they spoke about transgender rights. A brief sponsorship of Bud Light in 2023 led to calls for a boycott by American conservatives.
The millennial pause is a pause in speaking that is present at the start of some recorded videos, especially in short-form content and on social media apps like TikTok. The practice of including such a pause is generally ascribed to millennials, the generation of people born from the early-mid 1980s to mid-1990s. The phenomenon is an example of the digital generation gap between millennials and subsequent generations.
Vitus Spehar, better known as V Spehar, is an American journalist and podcast host best known for their TikTok account, UnderTheDeskNews.
Olivia Julianna is an American political activist, abortion rights advocate, and strategist from Texas. She was formerly a director of politics and government affairs for Gen-Z for Change. Julianna has maintained a heavy social media presence to encourage civic engagement on issues such as abortion rights and climate change. She was named one of the 50 Most Influential of 2022 by Bloomberg Media.
Ryan Wayne Shakes is an American social media personality. After creating content on Musical.ly at a young age, Shakes gained a following on the latter's predecessor, TikTok, where he has over 6 million followers as of May 2023. He is the founder and owner of the online store ShakeyFam.