UPDATE! January 19th at 2:35pm: After a brief shutdown, TikTok has begun restoring its services in the United Statesfollowing a pledge by former President Trump to facilitate its return. The shutdown, triggered by federal action under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA), resulted in TikTok’s removal from the Apple App Store and Google Play, cutting off millions of U.S. users from the platform earlier today. Read more HERE.
This is a story about trust. Or the lack of it. And about Richmond, which always seems to find a way to keep moving forward, even when the rest of the world is running in circles. It’s also about TikTok, which might disappear soon, and Meta, which seems determined to become a caricature of itself.
Once, we thought social media might connect us, make us smarter, maybe even make us better. Instead, we’ve ended up here, with creators and small businesses in Richmond wondering if they’ll have to trust Facebook and Instagram to survive. Spoiler alert: They shouldn’t.
TikTok: The Great Equalizer
TikTok, for all its flaws, worked. It gave Richmond’s artists, musicians, and entrepreneurs a chance to find audiences they’d never reach otherwise. No gatekeepers. No expensive ad campaigns. Just creativity and the world’s shortest attention span. It was chaos, but it was the kind of chaos where interesting things happened.
Now, thanks to the Supreme Court, TikTok might go poof. Gone. The official reason? Something about national security, data privacy, or whatever buzzword makes everyone stop asking questions. The unofficial reason? It’s probably too popular for its own good.
If TikTok disappears, Richmond loses more than just a platform—it loses a stage. It’s where a musician performing for 20 people downtown could captivate 20,000 across the globe. Just ask locals like rapper Chandler Matkins (850,000 followers), musician/comedian Wes Parker (200,000 followers), or Thai Nguyen, who’s reached 1.7 million fans.
Meta: The World’s Largest Tollbooth
Meta, of course, is standing by, ready to scoop up TikTok’s orphaned users. Facebook and Instagram would love to take TikTok’s place, but trusting Meta is like asking a fox to babysit your chickens.
Meta is busy reinventing itself as a company that doesn’t even bother pretending anymore. In the last two weeks, it scrapped its U.S. fact-checking program, promoted Joel Kaplan, a Republican power player, to chief global affairs officer, and added Dana White, CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and close friend of Trump, to its board.
And just for good measure, Meta announced it’s also ending its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. It’s almost like they’re holding a big neon sign that says, “We’re not here for everyone, and we don’t care.”
For Richmond, where diversity and creativity aren’t just values but survival skills, Meta’s pivot is the opposite of reassuring. How can you trust a platform that prioritizes profits over people? Or algorithms over authenticity?
The Path Forward
If TikTok is banned, creators and businesses will have decisions to make. Meta will be the obvious fallback, but its platforms are about as welcoming as an airport on Thanksgiving. Instagram Reels might look like TikTok, but the experience is different—less discovery, more ads, and an algorithm that rewards wallets, not talent.
Then there are the smaller platforms—BeReal, Clapper, Mastodon, Blue Sky. They’re not perfect, but they’re interesting, and maybe that’s enough for now.
And then there’s local media. Richmond has always had its own way of doing things, and independent outlets like our own RVA Magazine, WRIR 97.3FM and The Richmonder are proof of that. These platforms don’t rely on algorithms. They rely on people. And if TikTok’s ban teaches us anything, it’s that people—not platforms—are what make things matter.
A Lesson From Richmond
Richmond doesn’t wait for anyone. It never has. If TikTok goes away and Meta continues its slow-motion collapse into irrelevance, this city will find another way. It always does.
Because here’s the thing: Platforms are tools. They’re not communities. And Richmond’s community is bigger, stronger, and weirder than anything Meta or TikTok could ever hope to create.
If Meta wants trust, it’ll have to earn it. But honestly, who’s holding their breath? Richmond doesn’t need Meta, and it doesn’t need TikTok. It just needs the people who make it what it is—scrappy, resilient, and always ready to rewrite the rules.
And if there’s one thing we know about Richmond, it’s this: The story doesn’t end here. It never does.
