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Is the KIA TikTok Challenge Information Warfare?
Countries like Russia and China use information warfare against geopolitical opponents. Is the TikTok Kia challenge one example?
“City of Chicago Files Suit Against Automakers Kia And Hyundai,” announced Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office in a statement on August 23, 2023. “A critical defect in the companies’ vehicles led to a car theft crisis.”
“The complaint, which was filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, alleges that Kia and Hyundai failed to equip their U.S. cars, sold between 2011 and 2022, with vital anti-theft technology, which almost all other car manufacturers made a standard feature over a decade ago and which Kia and Hyundai include in their vehicles sold outside of the country,” said the Mayor’s office in a statement.
“The failure of Kia and Hyundai to install basic auto-theft prevention technology in these models is sheer negligence, and as a result, a citywide and nationwide crime spree around automobile theft has been unfolding right before our eyes,” said Mayor Johnson.
Mayor Johnson took a certain level of criticism for this unprecedented move.
“Chicago mayor mocked for suing automakers for car thefts: ‘Criminals running rampant’ but it’s a ‘Kia problem,’” reported Bailee Hill for Fox News this week. “Mayor Brandon Johnson has sued 2…