Amid an uncertain future due to measures taken by the Donald Trump administration, TikTok has named the first 19 recipients of its $1 billion TikTok Creator Fund in the US.
First announced last month, this fund will reach hundreds of thousands of creators, starting with $200 million and growing to $1 billion in the US over the next three years, and more than double that globally, TikTok said.
The 19 creators named by TikTok on Monday include David Dobrik, Brittany Tomlinson, Cheyenne Jaz Wise, Justice Alexander, Michael Le, Marissa Ren, and Ross Smith.
The other selected accounts include those of Matt Broussard, Alex Stemplewski, Avani Gregg, Jess Andrade, Darryl Jones, Yumna Jawad, Chance Moore, and Kate Hudson, Fayez, Matt Grecia, Isabella Avila, Spencer Polanco Knight, and Anthony Youn.
“Each of these creators has shown what it means to be your authentic self, bring joy and inspiration to people, and creatively connect with an audience,” Vanessa Pappas, General Manager, TikTok US, wrote in a blog post.
TikTok said it launched the Creator Fund to further support creators of all sizes and backgrounds through earnings that reward the passion and dedication they put into “inspiring, uplifting, and entertaining the TikTok community”.
“There are so many more creators that make TikTok the platform that it is today and we encourage all of our eligible creators to apply to the Creator Fund when the application process opens in-app mid-August,” Pappas said.
To be eligible, users must meet the minimum eligibility requirements, including being 18 years or older, meet a baseline of 10,000 followers, have accrued at least 10,000 video views in the last 30 days, and post original content in line with its Community Guidelines.
TikTok is facing an uncertain future in the US as President Trump earlier this month issued an executive order that prohibits transactions with the company’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, by any entity in the US within 45.
The order came after Microsoft revealed an intention to close a deal to purchase TikTok’s US business by around September 15 � a deadline set by Trump.
TikTok has threatened legal action challenging Trump’s executive order.
