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Biden; Indonesian Presidential Candidates Use TikTok For Youth Outreach

Joe Biden; Indonesian Presidentail Candidates Use TikTok To Reach Young Voters

The rise of TikTok and its popularity among young voters has caught the attention of political campaigns in the US and Indonesia. With huge youth audiences spending lots of time on the platform, Bidenโ€™s 2024 re-election campaign and Indonesiaโ€™s top three presidential candidates have joined TikTok to connect with this crucial demographic ahead of primary elections.

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In the US, the Biden team recently launched a TikTok account despite the platform facing national security reviews and calls from some lawmakers to ban it over China data access concerns. Biden advisors say they will โ€œmeet voters where they are,โ€ including on TikTok and other major platforms like Instagram. The campaign claims it is taking security precautions, like keeping TikTok access separate from different devices. The move shows Biden trying to court young, TikTok-loving voters for 2024 despite the appโ€™s ongoing controversies.

Similarly, in Indonesia, all three candidates running in the Feb. 14th presidential election have a TikTok presence they are leveraging to attract youth voters. With 125 million Indonesian users, TikTok is immensely influential there. Videos show candidates dancing, cooking local dishes, and answering real-time questions. At campaign events, young voters like 22-year-old Irene Putri Aisyah eagerly record everything on TikTok to share with friends and followers.

Experts warn about misinformation flooding Indonesian TikTok ahead of the vote. Over half of the countryโ€™s 205 million registered voters are below 35. A January poll found it was Indonesiansโ€™ 2nd most used source for political information after TV. While TikTok offers candidates a significant opportunity to court young voters, its viral nature legitimately can also amplify dangerous manipulation efforts around the election.

Both the US and Indonesia show how, in 2024, TikTok has become a double-edged sword that campaigns must carefully leverage. With youth audiences flocking there, it provides invaluable access if used responsibly. But experts say its powerful reach also makes TikTok vulnerable to those seeking to shape voter attitudes and decisions falsely. Campaigns worldwide face major choices in engaging such influential yet risky platforms.

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Galwan clash hero Colonel Santosh Babu awarded Maha Vir Chakra posthumously

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New Delhi: Colonel B Santosh Babu, 37, who was killed during the clash with Chinese soldiers in Ladakhโ€™s Galwan Valley in 2020, was on Tuesday posthumously awarded Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) for extraordinary courage and leadership, by President Ram Nath Kovind at an investiture ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. Babuโ€™s widow, B Santoshi, and mother, B Manjula, received the award.

The President also awarded Vir Chakra (VrC) to five other Galwan braves who fought off numerically superior Chinese troops on June 15, 2020. Four of them were awarded the VrC posthumously. The MVC is Indiaโ€™s second-highest wartime gallantry award followed by the VrC.

The posthumous VrC awardees are Naib Subedar Nuduram Soren (16 Bihar), Havildar K Palani (81 Field) Naik Deepak Singh (16 Bihar) and Sepoy Gurtej Singh (3 Punjab). Havildar Tejinder Singh (3 Medium) was the only living recipient of the wartime honour. The brutal clash pushed the India-China bilateral relationship to a breaking point.

Babuโ€™s citation said: โ€œUndaunted by the violent and aggressive action by overwhelming strength of enemy soldiers, the officer in true spirit of service before self, continued to resist the enemyโ€™s attempt to pushback Indian troops. Despite being grievously injured, Colonel Babu led from the front with absolute command and control despite hostile conditions to deter the vicious enemy attack at his position.โ€

Twenty Indian soldiers were killed in the seven-hour deadly conflict near Patrolling Point (PP) 14 in Galwan Valley, where outnumbered Indian troops inflicted heavy casualties on the Chinese Peopleโ€™s Liberation Army (PLA).

Apart from 16 Bihar soldiers; soldiers from 3 Punjab, 3 Medium Regiment and 81 Field Regiment were involved in what was the first deadly conflict between Indian and Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in more than five decades.

The first wave of fighting in Galwan Valley erupted around 6pm on June 15 after Colonel Babu led a squad of 30 soldiers to a location near PP-14 to verify if the PLA had removed some structures erected in the area despite an understanding reached on June 6 by top Indian and Chinese military commanders on a disengagement plan to cool border tensions.

 

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