After Protests, More Black Creators Are Courted by Social Media Apps – The Hollywood Reporter

Nearly a year ago, TikTok unveiled its Black creatives program, a three-month incubator in partnership with Charles D. King’s Macro media company, to support an inaugural class of 100 creators and propel their careers forward. Since then, creators have attended town halls and meetings with TikTok and entertainment industry execs and received training on topics like how to turn their platforms into brands. In November, TikTok and Macro said they were awarding 10 Black creators $50,000 grants each to pursue a larger project and help cover the costs of equipment, staffing and other resources. Jason Linton, who goes by @dadlifejason on TikTok and has 11.6 million followers, is a recipient of one of the grants, and says he was grateful the incubator brought him together with other Black creatives. Jason Linton Courtesy of TikTok “We will help each other with each other’s content and with each other’s vision. We’ve actually started a deeper camaraderie that was sparked with TikTok for Black creatives,” Linton says. “It continues even to this day. And that really changed the game for us.”  TikTok’s incubator program was built after the social media app faced accusations that it suppressed content related to Black Lives Matter as users spoke…
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