Politics
Sinead Butler
Apr 30, 2024
Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak has been criticised after bizarrely doing a TikTok trend to share news of a cut in National Insurance.
But what TikTok trend was he attempting?
Well for this latest PR move, the Prime Minister did a trend on TikTok which involves users writing hidden messages on a clear mug, and then pouring milk into the drink to reveal the text.
The dark coffee that keeps the text hidden is then revealed as the milk makes the liquid lighter.
Here is an an example of a viral video of the trend which appears to have began back in 2022:
@the.dayyy #viral #barista #baristalife #coffee #secretmessage #viralvideo #viraltiktok #fyp
In the clip posted to social media, Sunak sat down at a table with a cup of coffee and a milk bottle, and then pours the milk in the coffee where the text "£900" appears on the coffee glass mug.
“Pay day is coming,” the PM wrote as the caption on X, formerly Twitter.
“Our second National Insurance cut hits payslips tomorrow. It’s worth £900 to someone earning the UK average salary.”
This is one of the different clips Sunak posted to promote this message, but on a few of them there were Community Notes as Full Fact clarified what this cut will actually mean.
"This is only a partial picture - when ALL tax changes are included to present the whole picture, the average worker (on approx. £35k) will save only about £340 a year. If you earn less than £26k, you will be worse off."
Sunak has also been roasted for doing a TikTok trend as a way to share this news and for not providing the full context.
Not quite the reaction, the PM was perhaps going for...
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