TikTok slams U.S. congressman for TRUMP memecoin buy accusations

The TikTok official X account denies accusations from Congressman Brad Sherman alleging its ‘Chinese owners’ have bought $300 million worth of TRUMP memecoins to get Trump to prolong its extension.

In a recent post, the official account replied to Sherman that appears to criticize President Donald Trump’s Executive Order to extend the deadline for TikTok’s closure in the U.S for another 90 days to find a buyer or be banned in the U.S. This marks the third time TikTok has been granted an extension to its deadline.

Sherman argues that the White House is only allowed to offer up one extension, claiming that Trump’s Executive Order is “illegal.” Adding to that, he accused the social media platform of bribing the U.S. government by “buying “Trump (TRUMP) Coins” for $300 million.”

“Trump creates “Trump Coins” at no cost, meaning this is just a $300 million bribe that goes right into his pocket,” said Sherman in his post.

In response, the platform’s official policy account immediately debunked Sherman’s claims, stating that his accusations are “false and irresponsible.”

“Congressman, claiming that the owners of TikTok are buying “Trump Coins” is patently false and irresponsible and doesn’t even accurately reflect a letter you signed last month,” wrote the platform.

Why does Brad Sherman believe TikTok bought $300m TRUMP memecoins?

Congressman Brad Sherman’s allegations apparently stem from a press release by GD Culture Group, a Nasdaq-listed company that operates in the field of AI-generated content and e-commerce. On May 12, GD Culture announced that it would commit $300 million of its corporate funds into investing in TRUMP memecoins and Bitcoin (BTC).

However, GD Culture itself has no known formal ties to TikTok, which is actually owned by a different company entirely. The platform is owned by China-based company ByteDance. So far, there has been no credible evidence that suggests ByteDance has ever purchased TRUMP memecoins or any cryptocurrency.

In August 2024, GD Culture announced that it would be launching its own TikTok account @streamlineainews. The account is dedicated to disseminating updates, insights, and trends about the world of artificial intelligence. This means that although GD Culture Group does have a connection to TikTok, it is not owned by ByteDance. GD Culture simply a client or user of the social platform.