TikToker offered $5,000 to join Facebook and Instagram

Social media giant Meta has offered to pay up to $5,000 (£4,040) to popular US creators to join Facebook and Instagram.

Those who join through a “third-party social app” will receive cash based on their “social presence rating.”

Although it did not mention TikTok by name, the timing comes as Meta attempts to capitalize on the uncertainty surrounding its rival, as questions swirl about whether President Trump will find a way to preserve TikTok for U.S. users. It would suggest that there is.

TikTok says it has 170 million users in the U.S., many of whom rely on it for a living, so if the platform were to disappear, many people would be looking for alternative places to post. It will be.

Meta says on its website that those accepted into its so-called “Breakthrough Bonus Program” will be paid within the first 90 days of using the app, as long as they post regularly.

Users must post at least 20 Reels on Facebook and 10 Reels on Instagram (Meta’s version of vertical TikTok videos) during each 30-day period.

It also stipulates that the video must be original and not previously shared on other platforms.

However, not everyone can participate. The cash is only available to people who are completely new to Facebook or Instagram.

And since you have to apply to join the program, it appears the company will decide who to accept on a case-by-case basis.

We also offer other benefits, including a free subscription to the Blue Check verification system.

This isn’t the first time Meta has targeted ByteDance users.

On Sunday, the company announced Edits, an app that is strikingly similar to ByteDance’s CapCut. The app is a video editing app that was taken offline when ByteDance’s ban went into effect on the same day.

And two days earlier, Meta released a video in which two creators discuss Facebook’s “new affiliate link experience for shoppable content,” Meta’s attempt to build its own version of the hugely successful TikTok Shop. Posted.

The new system will allow Meta users to add prominent affiliate links directly to their videos instead of in the comments, just like how it works on TikTok.

But that’s not the only change Meta has made. And perhaps most visually significant are the direct changes to Instagram’s look.

Posts and videos are now rectangular instead of square in user profiles. This is also clearly inspired by TikTok.

The move has sparked a backlash from creators who are unhappy with the way their profiles look, and Instagram chief Adam Mosseri said he was aware of the criticism.

“One of the mistakes I made was not paying enough attention to people,” he said in a Threads post. Threads is a platform launched by Meta to capitalize on the chaos at Twitter (now X).