Dispute Erupts Over NPR Report on TikTok Ownership and White House Involvement

WASHINGTON D.C. — A recent NPR article claiming the White House has engaged in discussions about U.S. investors and Oracle taking control of TikTok has been met with sharp criticism, particularly from V Spehar, a journalist and host of UnderTheDeskNews on TikTok. Spehar took to social media to dismantle the claims, pointing to misunderstandings and inaccuracies in the reporting.

“This is straight up not happening,” Spehar said, addressing the NPR article. “Oracle has already held all the data for Americans for going on like two years now. It was part of something called Project Texas, and TikTok itself is 60% owned by global investors.”

The NPR report relies on unnamed sources, which Spehar criticized for undermining credibility, especially when contrasted with denials from former President Donald Trump. “When President Trump, who certainly speaks for the White House, I would think, tells you that there has been no discussion with Larry Ellison over a TikTok takeover, shouldn’t that change your headline or the exclusivity of your story?” Spehar said.

Spehar also noted outdated references in the article, such as the inclusion of Microsoft and Walmart as potential investors. “Yeah, Walmart and Microsoft looked at buying TikTok several years ago, and then they found out that TikTok cannot and will not sell,” they explained.

The broader issue of divestiture has been ongoing since a law passed under the Trump administration demanded TikTok separate from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, and delete its entire source code. According to Spehar, this requirement is fundamentally impractical. “TikTok has tried to explain they cannot just delete the entire source code for the app. They just can’t. It would take three years to rewrite all of that code to hand it over to somebody if that’s what they wanted them to do.”

Spehar expressed frustration with the misinformation and confusion caused by frequent “breaking news” updates, calling for greater accountability in journalism. “We’re in the midst of a misinformation and disinformation avalanche,” they said. “You cannot trust statements from the White House at face value. My commitment to you is one afternoon video and one video at 7 PM that wraps up just what happened that day… if we do breaking news 700 times a day, the misinformation and confusion and exhaustion that people are going to feel will make it so that the fascists actually do win.”

The debate over TikTok’s ownership, its compliance with U.S. law, and the security of American users’ data remains unresolved, but critics like Spehar continue to push for clear and factual reporting as public discourse intensifies.