Congressman Played Player Tip Corecore Video During TikTok CEO's Hearing About Potential U.S. Ban

Today marks TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew's hearing before Congress to determine whether or not TikTok will be banned in the U.S.

Among many questions and pieces of evidence levied by the House Commerce Committee, one Florida Congressman, Gus Bilirakis (R), played a series of depressing corecore videos for the room, starting with one that said, "Player Tip: KYS."

Congressman @RepGusBilirakis grills TikTok CEO Shou Chew over the platform's content glorifying suicide -- and their inability to take responsibility.

WARNING: DISTURBING CONTENT pic.twitter.com/PpdU8gF7aq

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 23, 2023

A clip of the moment quickly landed on Twitter, initially from the pro-Republican account @RNCResearch, which echoed Congressman Bilirakis' sentiment that the video was reflective of how TikTok's content allegedly glorified suicide.

However, others saw the video as less than evidence, such as Twitter user @penbbles who levied a humorous counterargument of, "BRO NO F***ING WAY THEY USED THE PLAYER TIP VIDEO 😭😭."

BRO NO F***ING WAY THEY USED THE PLAYER TIP VIDEO 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/0tLYqaTudM

— psychoceramic autistic fellow (@penbbles) March 23, 2023

The "Player Tip" video was originally uploaded to TikTok in January by a TikToker with the username @tjharris_p. Soon after posting, the video went viral on the app with many of the top comments proclaiming that it was built for a corecore video — a style of TikTok video known for being overly emotional, heartfelt and self-judgmental.

Despite the original video going viral, a duet uploaded by TikToker @amanm9 a month later is what was actually featured in Congressman Bilirakis' presentation. In it, @amanm9 is seen crying, and to many on the app and in the video's comment section, he's being satirical about his willingness to comply with @tjharris_p's suggestion.

@amanm9 #stitch with @tjharris_p ♬ original sound – aman

Another video in the Congressman's presentation was a clip from Hulu's show The Bear, which is well-known for its emotional characters and scenes, as well as its presence in memes.

As the hearing comes to a close today, many on Twitter are not confident about TikTok's survival on U.S. mobile devices, but only time will tell if TikTok truly gets banned in America, and if it does, the inclusion of Congressman Bilirakis' presentation into that timeline will surely be remembered in the future.