A giant teddy bear riding a motorcycle. Someone delicately performing surgery on a banana. Too many teens pranking their unsuspecting moms to count. That’s some of the funny, irreverent humour you can find on TikTok.

The social networking platform typically serves up a series of light-hearted, 15-second clips generated by its users. And in 2019 it blew up among young people, boasting 1.5 billion downloads.

But over the last few months, TikTok’s been in the news for other reasons, raising questions around the Chinese-owned platform’s collection of user data, and whether the company censors content seen by U.S. users.

Amber Mac, co-host of The AI Effect, joins the show today. What is TikTok? How did it get to be this big? And why are people becoming so suspicious.

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A China-sized cloud of suspicion around TikTok

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In recent months, public experts are in agreement that wearing a mask in public is one of the only ways we can help slow the spread of COVID-19 in the absence of a treatment or a vaccine. Still, there are tons of people who refuse to wear one, saying it’s uncomfortable or a violation of their constitutional rights. Today, we’re talking to a behavioural psychologist about why we should all be wearing masks right now, and how we can convince those who won’t to change their minds.

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How to deal with anti-maskers

The Twitter accounts of some of the world’s most powerful people were hacked on Wednesday in a brazen attack. Hackers took over accounts belonging to Elon Musk, Barack Obama, Bill Gates, and many others, to promote a bitcoin scam. How did this happen and what should we make of it? We’ve got Motherboard’s senior editor Jordan Pearson to help us make sense of it all.

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Hackers came for Elon Musk and other high-profile Twitter users

The Canadian government has been spending huge amounts on financial assistance programs for people and businesses affected by the pandemic. A major one has been the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), which is $500 a week to help those who have lost their jobs or work hours. The program has been praised for its effectiveness, and it’s also reignited the debate around universal basic income (UBI). Today, we’re joined by Sheila Block, senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, to talk about whether we could see UBI in our future.





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First CERB... then universal basic income?

This week, Ontario is moving into Stage 3 of reopening, which means that more places like indoor bars and gyms are opening. Even though Ontario has been flattening the curve to some extent, a lot of people are concerned that we’re moving too fast and that there could be a surge in cases. Today, we’re joined by the Globe and Mail’s health reporter Carly Weeks to talk about what Stage 3 means, why there’s a plan for reopening bars but not for schools, and whether we’re ready.

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Ontario is entering Stage 3, but is that a good idea?

Justin Trudeau is facing his third investigation by Canada’s ethics watchdog after outcry over a $900 million federal contract awarded to WE Charity. The controversy over the now-cancelled WE Charity government contract ramped up this week after it was revealed that Trudeau’s family members were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to speak at WE Charity events. Today, we’re joined by Global News’ chief political correspondent David Akin to break down the debacle and what it says about Trudeau and the Liberals. 





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A China-sized cloud of suspicion around TikTok

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