The British government is adopting an innovative way to deter migrants from crossing the English Channel.
The British Home Office is turning to Tik-Tok influencers to deliver its message – don’t come to the UK.
It’s hoping the influencers will spread information about new UK immigration laws that could result in deportation to Rwanda.
Social media adviser, Cass Horowitz, suggested the move as part of a £1 million advertising blitz.
Horowitz was the brains behind Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s successful PR campaign “Brand Rishi”.
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In March last year, the UK banned the use of Tik-Tok on government devices.
Cabinet Office Ministers had carried out a security review looking at the potential vulnerability of government data from social media aps.
They established that there are risks around accessing sensitive information on some platforms, including the Chinese internet technology company Tik-Tok.
Tik-Tok is often used by people smugglers to recruit potential migrants who want to cross the Channel and the British Home Office believes this is a “vital” platform to utilize.
The British Home Office has contracted Multicultural Marketing Consultancy to carry out the project, thereby circumventing the ban.
According to The Times newspaper, the company has already put forward seven celebrities it believes are “popular culture opinion-formers who are well-placed to disseminate key messages on Tik-Tok about the reasons to remain in country, risks to crossing and the legislation that applies if you arrive in the UK.”
These celebrities are being brought in from Egypt, India and other countries.
The Migration Observatory says in 2022, around 46,000 people attempted to cross the English Channel.
However, that number seems to have declined in the first half of 2023.
The UK has been battling this migrant problem since 2018.
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