Facebook teaming up with a major Republican consulting firm to turn public opinion against their fiercest rival reeks of desperation ... so says Taylor Lorenz.
The Washington Post columnist joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday to break down her bombshell report on the ways in which Mark Zuckerberg's FB and Meta are playing dirty in their war with TikTok.
Taylor says Facebook looks incredibly weak for paying operatives at Targeted Victory -- a GOP consulting firm -- to carry out a calculated smear campaign to damage TikTok's standing in America and drive teens over to their social media platforms.
As for the Republican role in all this, Taylor says Targeted Victory is trying to drum up anti-Chinese sentiments and link TikTok to the Chinese government because the app is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance.
But, she says there's no evidence TikTok is in bed with Communist China ... despite claims by former President Donald Trump and others in the GOP.
It's an interesting look into the battle for social media supremacy ... and Taylor explains why Facebook and Meta are playing a dangerous game here.