The deadline for TikTok’s new buyer is tomorrow, but Chinese-made drones, vacuums, and cameras quietly continue collecting data.
⏰ Don’t be alarmed: Over 170 million Americans use TikTok. Isn’t that nuts? The clock is ticking on the TikTok sale. President Trump says the TikTok deal will happen before this Saturday’s deadline. There are a lot of potential buyers with $100 billion or more to spend, but the president will make the final call. I’d love to be in the room, hearing those conversations.
⏩ Reelly speedy: You can now watch Instagram Reels at 2x speed, like on TikTok and Netflix. Just hold down anywhere on the left edge of your screen or above the heart on the right side while watching a Reel. You’ll zip through it without missing a beat. Bless the algorithm for realizing we’re all too impatient for anything longer than 15 seconds.
Trust your gut: Amelia Mandeville-Marinaro had just given birth when her husband, Pete, received a call from their “bank.” Yikes, their money was in danger, and they had to move it immediately. Amelia shared on TikTok (3.2 million views) that alarm bells were going off in her head the whole time. So many scammers out there. You gotta be on your toes!
Dumb and dumber: Police are looking for four kids caught on camera following a bonehead viral TikTok trend. These troublemakers threw themselves against random garage doors to rack up likes and views. Homeowners are stuck paying thousands to fix the damage. Make sure your outside cams are working.
👩⚖️ Hailey Bieber v. haters: You just won’t talk to someone who trolls you on social media. If you’re a Bieber, no way. A viral TikTok video and a YouTube series are calling Hailey Bieber a bully for supposedly liking a mean post about Selena Gomez’s fiancé, Benny Blanco. Now, she’s lawyering up with Lisa Moore, who helped Cardi B win a $4 million defamation case.
💪 “Granny Guns”: That’s what fans call 68-year-old weight lifting star Marlene Flowers. After a scare hospitalized her 10 years ago, she changed her life, and her son started sharing her workouts on TikTok. Now, over 2 million followers watch her flex her big biceps. Love her. It’s never too late to feel strong and confident.
TikTok on the clock: The latest plan to save TikTok by April 5 comes with a big catch (paywall link). Oracle is the front-runner, but it will only take a small stake to look after your data. The app’s algorithm? Surprise, surprise, China will still control it. The algorithm is what makes TikTok tick.
Why AI isn’t the next dot-com crash - March 15th, Hour 1
Is AI the new dot-com bubble? The stock market and trade wars say otherwise. Plus, who’s taking over TikTok, hologram doctors are here, and fake CAPTCHAs are tricking you.
♥️ Kindness goes viral: I love this. Lisa Aamot and her family are very close with their elderly neighbors, Fred and Evy. Recently, Lisa recorded her 4-year-old daughter, Sutton, walking to their house to borrow some maple syrup. Surprisingly, Fred, who’s usually relaxing in his chair, answered the door. The video has touched over 4 million hearts on TikTok.
📱TikTok’s parental controls: In a total PR move and after seven years in the U.S., the app is rolling out Family Pairing tools. You can block access at certain times and check who’s following your teens. There’s a new “Time Away” feature to set a schedule and a “wind down” option for bedtime. Why now? It’s looking at a sale or ban next month, silly.
$750,000
How much TikTok star Khaby Lame rakes in per branded post. The twist? He doesn’t say a word. All he does is silently react to so-called “life hacks” with shrugs and funny facial expressions. It’s things like this that make me wonder if I picked the wrong career path.
“A lot of people want it”: That’s what President Trump says about TikTok. ByteDance has until April 5 to sell the app. Rumored U.S. buyers in the running include Oracle, Perplexity AI, a group led by real estate mogul Frank McCourt and Reddit’s cofounder Alexis Ohanian, and maybe MrBeast. The price? Over $400 billion and definitely out of my budget.
🥼 When you get a bladder infection, urine trouble: Fake AI doctors are taking over TikTok, pushing sketchy medical advice, from using lemon balm instead of Ozempic to selling health gummies through Amazon storefronts. The red flags? Decades of experience, weird mouth movements and names like the “coochie” or “booty” doctor.
15 minutes
Before your plane takes off, arrive at the airport. I bet that just stressed you out. This “airport theory” has almost 400 million views on TikTok. Some folks breezed through security and made it on time. Others weren’t so lucky. Don’t chance it.
🚨 Deepfakes going to a new level: TikTok owner ByteDance built an AI tool that makes realistic videos of people talking and singing from a single photo. OmniHuman can take an image (half-body or full-body) and bring it to life. Check out this example of Albert Einstein. Snazzy but scary in the wrong hands. And let’s not forget this is Chinese-owned. I wouldn’t hand over any personal pics.
😏 Didn’t take long: TikTok is back in the iPhone and Android app stores. The hiatus didn’t stop folks who used “sideloading” to install it from third-party sites (so dangerous!) or VPNs to fake their location. President Trump is set to make a decision about TT’s buyer before April 5.
$2
For a Toyota Corolla with 116,000 miles. Yes, the side mirrors are duct-taped, the license plate is bolted on with pliers, and there’s a minion painted on the hood. But mechanic Scotty Kilmer said in a viral TikTok he’d never get rid of an old Corolla. Under the ugly paint job is a 1.8L engine that’ll last forever. Here’s one for ya: Can a Toyota stretch? No, but a Mercedes-Benz.
🎓 Fake it till you make it: On TikTok, people of all ages are pretending they got into Harvard. The viral videos are funny, but it’s no joke that lawsuits have exposed donors and alumni kids getting special treatment. Speaking of … A Texan went to an Ivy League party on the East Coast. He walks up to a group of young women and asks, “Howdy, which school did y’all go to?” One of the women replied, “Yale.” The Texan asked again loudly, “WHICH SCHOOL DID Y’ALL GO TO?” (I saw you smile!)