The UK government plans to involve influencers on TikTok in its campaign to discourage illegal immigration to its shores, according to draft documents seen by The Times.
For the past three years, the UK has run paid ad campaigns on social media to deter illegal immigration in Albania, France and Belgium, urging people there not to cross the Channel in small boats.
The new initiative of the Home Office – which takes care of immigration and passports, drugs, policy, crime, counterterrorism and police – would expand the campaigns to countries like Iraq, Egypt and Vietnam, with plans to expand to Turkey and India.
The idea of involving influencers to spread the UK government’s message is also new. According to The Times, the Home Office has already redacted a list of Albanian influencers to help spread its message, including a rapper, two comedians, lifestyle bloggers, TV personalities and a travel writer.
The Home Office reportedly has a total of £30,000 (over €35,000) to pay all the influencers, with each individual 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 Times reported that a total of £576,500 (€675,000) was put aside for the five countries.
"Relentless action"
A spokesperson for the Home Office told Euronews that the document seen by The Times was outdated, though the department is in fact planning to expand its campaigns to other countries, including Vietnam, Iraq and Egypt and involve influencers on TikTok.
“People smugglers frequently use social media to peddle lies and promote their criminal activities, and it is vital that we utilise the same platforms to inform migrants about the truths about crossing the Channel and coming to the UK illegally,” the Home Office said in a statement shared with Euronews.
“The relentless action we have taken reduced crossings by 36% last year, which saw similar weather conditions to 2022. We make no apologies for using every means necessary to stop the boats and save lives.”
More than 550,000 people have crossed the Channel on small boats since 2015, according to the latest data from the Home Office.
According to numbers from the Home Office, the UK government's paid-for social media activity targeting Albania reached over 946,000 people and drove 231,000 clicks to the website.
