Stop the Boats
In its effort to check illegal migration and deaths occasioned by migrants crossing the Channel in small boats to the UK, the Home Office will pay celebrities to post messages on TikTok to discourage crossing the Channel in small boats.
“Stopping the boats” has been one of Rishi Sunak’s priorities since becoming prime minister.
However, the steps taken are widely considered to have failed so far. Nearly 30,000 asylum seekers came across the English Channel last year alone.
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The Times recently reported that the Home Office is trying to recruit social media stars in countries that account for a large amount of illegal migration to the UK.
The newspaper said TikTokers in Albania, Egypt, Iraq, and Vietnam – and later Turkey and India – could be paid around £5,000 to push the UK’s new immigration laws and urge their followers not to come to Britain.
The Home Office reportedly has a total of £30,000 (over €35,000) to pay all the influencers, with each pay capped at £5,000 (€5,860).
Another £15,000 (€17,580) is available to the ministerial department to pay for influencers in Egypt and Vietnam, while the amount to dedicate to influencers in Turkey, India, and Iraq has not yet been decided.
The Home Office is said to have hired an outside company, Multicultural Marketing Consultancy, to find candidates for the TikTok scheme.
An Albanian rapper known as ‘Omg Dioh’, with more than 103,000 followers on the video-sharing app, has been selected as a suitable candidate because he ‘uses the platform to influence and educate youngsters to work hard and follow their passions’, documents show.
Comedian Roxhi Dibran, with 150,000 followers, has also been approached to take part along with lifestyle influencer Fabio Daja, with 109,000.
It forms part of a £1million advertising campaign to be launched alongside the planned first Rwanda removals in the spring.
More than 13,600 Albanians reached Britain by small boat in 2022, but last year, the number fell by 90 per cent.
Since people smugglers frequently use social media to peddle lies and promote their criminal activities the Home Office is trying to utilise the same platforms to inform migrants about the truths about crossing the Channel and coming to the UK illegally.
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