Inside TikTokers push to block CP2, exporting liquid natural gas

The video was one of hundreds of videos posted to TikTok urging the Biden administration to reconsider the Calcasieu Pass 2 project, which is slated to supply Germany with 2.21 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas a year for two decades once it starts operating. And on Friday, the White House made a decision that thrilled environmental activists and influencers — pausing any approvals for new liquefied natural gas projects until the Energy Department analyzes their climate impact.

Last year, many young activists recorded similar videos in an unsuccessful attempt to get the Biden administration to stop the Willow oil drilling project in Alaska. But as left-leaning activists increasingly criticize the White House on social media for issues ranging from its support for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza to climate policies, they have become a key political force.

TikTok has become an active platform for young people opposing the growth of oil fields and gas plants, and many young influencers are also collaborating with local activists living near potential natural gas terminals or oil pipelines. The White House invited two TikTokers to meet with top officials on the issue in recent weeks.

TikTok has played a growing role in national and global politics since launching in the United States in 2018. Throughout 2020, teenagers on TikTok formed political coalitions to campaign for their chosen candidates, post news updates and fact-check opponents.

A growing number of Americans are getting news from TikTok rather than traditional media, according to a recent report by the Pew Research Center. “In just three years, the share of U.S. adults who say they regularly get news from TikTok has more than quadrupled, from 3% in 2020 to 14% in 2023,” the report said.

White House domestic climate adviser Ali Zaidi, who met with the social media influencers in a Zoom meeting this month, highlighted the importance of young environmentalists when he was asked Friday whether the administration made its decision because activists had expressed their displeasure.

“If we get this right, I think young people know they’ve got in Joe Biden, a partner, an ally, a leader who is willing to be forward leaning and fearless in taking on this crisis and unlocking the massive, massive opportunity that sits on the other side of that,” Zaidi said.

Turnout among younger voters provided a critical boost to Biden in the 2020 election, and helped Democrats in the 2022 midterms. But some recent surveys, such as the Harvard Youth Poll this fall, have shown a dip in enthusiasm among voters aged 18-29.

The White House did not respond to a request Friday evening asking for comment on the role social influencers played in the administration’s decision on natural gas exports.

Several Republicans, including Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), condemned the move. “Once again, President Biden has caved to far-left extremists, choosing politics over the actual climate science, gutting the American workforce, and putting America’s national security and our allies at risk,” Sullivan said in a statement Friday.

The Biden administration has previously worked closely with TikTok creators. In 2020, hundreds of Gen Z content creators got together to form Gen Z For Biden, a nonprofit group aimed at leveraging their collective power online to help get Biden elected. When Biden won, thousands of TikTok creators live-streamed election results as they came in, celebrating his win.

However, young people’s feelings toward Biden have soured as his presidency has progressed. TikTok videos lamenting his policies on the war in Gaza, climate change and failure to contain the pandemic, have led to many TikTok creators who previously endorsed his 2020 run, to quietly revoke their support or openly endorse more progressive candidates.

One TikTok audio featuring Biden giving a speech about how “Covid no longer controls our lives,” has been used by young people who have been permanently disabled by the virus to speak out against Biden’s policies. “Look at the thousands and thousands of Americans whose lives will never be the same,” one young creator posted. “Look at them and maybe you can acknowledge how much work there is left.”

As Biden’s reelection efforts take shape, his campaign has doubled down on its efforts to court Gen Z voters through TikTok. Last week, Biden’s reelection campaign announced they were seeking a director of digital partnerships to work with creators on TikTok and other social platforms to “amplify Joe Biden’s message and reach key voting blocs.”

Last fall, the White House hosted a reception for TikTok stars for the VidCon Baltimore convention, a gathering of online creators, and in December hosted its first holiday party specifically for digital content creators. Christian Tom, director of the White House’s Office of Digital Strategy, told an audience of content creators and industry executives at VidCon Baltimore that, for the first time, there is a specific team at the White House dedicated to forging partnerships with content creators.

“The work we do with creators has the most upside and potential of all the communications methods we employ,” Tom said. “Whether it’s spicy tweets from @WhiteHouse, or our work with creators, it’s about how we can find a way to appear in the feed in a way that feels authentic, organic and ultimately surprises you.”

The online campaign against the Louisiana natural gas project gathered steam relatively quickly. Alex Haraus, a 25-year-old influencer from Colorado, first learned about it from the climate activist Bill McKibben’s newsletter. His first video on the topic, in mid-November started lighthearted — with a riff about another TikToker not liking store-bought pesto — and then became deadly serious. “Calcasieu Pass 2 will emit 20 times that of the Willow project,” Haraus said, before urging his viewers to send public comments to DOE to halt the project.

By January, Haraus was posting videos from his travels to Louisiana with activists who were living near the proposed gas project — showing the polluted air and water near their homes. Some of those videos garnered over 500,000 views.

Haraus, who also met with White House senior adviser John D. Podesta, said he emphasized to Biden officials that young people were frustrated by the Willow decision and growing disenchanted with their ability to influence their government. But if CP2 were canceled, he argued, young people might feel more empowered and prepared to support the administration on other climate goals.

Haraus wasn’t sure that the officials had taken him seriously. But with the announcement on Friday, he felt invigorated. “This is just another example of how social media can really, really instigate positive change,” he said.

Elise Joshi, a 21-year-old TikTok influencer and the executive director of Gen Z for Change, also met with Zaidi. “This is a huge win,” said Joshi. On Friday, Joshi posted a video of herself saying “Yes, yes, yes!” and pumping her fist.

Some of the activists on the ground in Louisiana also pointed to social media as a key factor in the decision. “Many people cannot believe this is real,” said Roishetta Sibley Ozane, the founder of the Vessel Project of Louisiana, an environmental justice group. “The fact that we have that social media platform and we’re able to show this to the world — that’s another major player in this decision today.”

Alaina Wood, a sustainability scientist and climate influencer with more than 380,000 followers on TikTok, said that she has seen increasing impact from social media activism. “In the almost four years that I’ve been doing this, I’ve seen more and more projects stopped because of online activism,” she said.

At the same time, she said, young people who once just made videos are starting to move into in-person activism as well. “The young people who were on social media like four or five years ago are now adults,” she said. “They have more power and freedom to do what they want offline.”

But some experts say that it is too early to assess the impact of online activism. Dana R. Fisher, a sociologist at American University who studies climate activism, said that local activism, protests, and other in-person actions are more likely to provoke change.

“It’s wonderful that it trended on TikTok,” she said. “But that is not going to be enough when you look at policy outcomes.” In the best case, Fisher said, online climate activism can turn into more in-person activism.

Still, many influencers are celebrating what they see as a win for the climate movement — and for trying to use TikTok to change policy. “The reason this campaign worked and any campaign works is that anyone can make a video and it can go viral,” said Haraus, who counted around 13.5 million views across social media of “Stop LNG” content.

The next fossil fuel target of social media activism could be anything, he added. “What will trend, will trend,” he said.