TikTok Launches $200 Million Fund To Finance Up-And-Coming Stars

TikTok Launches $200 Million Fund To Finance Up-And-Coming Stars

Kevin Wilson, an associate pastor at The Oceanside Seventh-Day Adventist Church, shows his TikTok ... [+] account on Tuesday, July 21, 2020 in Oceanside, CA. He talks about chai (tea) on the feed that has over 100,000 followers. (Photo by Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)





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TikTok will begin financing emerging creators on its short-form video platform with a $200 million fund that it announced today, an unusual move by a social media company and one that comes after several weeks of concerns about TikTok's future.



The company, which is owned by China-based ByteDance, didn't provide many specific details about how it will give out that money or who may qualify for it. It may be directed toward users from minority groups“”with the press release about the fund's debut singling out creators like Boman Martinez-Reid, a LGBTQ comedian who has signed with CAA, and Tabitha Brown, who's become famous for her videos about family life and veganism.



TikTok is in a multi-front battle right now. The Trump Administration is considering banning the app over concerns it may share data with the Chinese government, and the users who