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In an article in The Times, it is revealed that the Home Office will pay celebrities to post awareness messages on Tik Tok, urging migrants not to cross the Channel in dinghies.
Social media influencers in countries that account for a large amount of illegal immigration to the UK, including Albania, The Times says will be offered thousands of pounds to publicize new immigration laws, including the threat of deportation in Rwanda.
According to the media, a shortlist of influencers has already been selected in Albania, with the help of a private market consultancy, which includes a rapper, two comedians, bloggers, TV personalities and a travel writer. The Home Office has a budget of around £30,000 to pay Albanian influencers, who have been chosen for their ability to attract young people. It would be capped at £5,000 per person.
A rapper known as Omg Dioh, who has more than 100,000 TikTok followers, was chosen as a suitable candidate because he "uses the platform to influence and educate young people to work hard and follow their passions". Another influencer is Roxhi Dibrani, a comedian with 150,000 followers, who has a "strong northern Albanian accent, which can help him deliver messages more easily to young people located in our target regions."
Fabio Daja, with 109,000 followers, is described as a "lifestyle influencer" who "cares about issues and actively shares his opinions in a ridiculously upbeat way."
Ben Washburn, an American travel blogger with more than 100,000 followers, fell in love with Albania during his travels and "rekindles the desire to explore and love Albania more".
The decision to pay influencers is described as "groundbreaking" in a government document. The idea came to Downing Street from Cass Horowitz, the social media expert behind Brand Rishi. Suella Braverman is known to have blocked these plans when she was Minister of the Interior with the claims that they were "worthless", but after her departure from the government, this idea will be implemented, the media further writes.
The process is designed to avoid a government ban on the use of TikTok, which was introduced last year following security concerns. It means Home Office can't advertise directly on TikTok. Massive advertising campaigns will take place in Albania, Iraq, Egypt and Vietnam, with plans to introduce them to Turkey and India.
TikTok is used by people smugglers to advertise raft migration. The move is part of a £1m advertising campaign to be launched alongside the Home Office's implementation of the Rwanda policy in the spring.
The plan to pay influencers is the next phase of the Home Office's advertising campaign in the country, which has been running for the past three years. It has included UK government-branded ads on social media, TV and radio, warning of the consequences of illegal travel to the UK. The department said its social media ads had reached 946,000 people – about a third of Albania's population – and attracted 231,000 website clicks. The advertising campaign will cost the Home Office £380,500.
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