• Late 2024: From what I heard, TikTok users were getting annoyed because it was mostly ads and pushing their sales platform; it went from a continuous entertainment scroll to an ad every second or third video.

• 2020: Previous POTUS proposes shutting down TikTok due to foreign influence; over the next 4 years, government continues to discuss and push this proposal forward.

• Mid-January 2025: SCOTUS upholds the government's ability to shut down TikTok (they did not actually rule to shut it down). Users start panicking and talking about alternate apps and what everyone will do next. Multiple new owners are floated, including Perplexity AI and Musk.

• Jan. 19 (morning): Users are met with a message saying the app has shut down, but "fortunately" POTUS-elect is working on a solution to bring it back. Everyone (it feels like) screenshots this message and posts it on their alternate social media of choice.

• Jan. 19 (afternoon): POTUS-elect claims he will issue an executive order immediately after taking office on Monday to delay the ban. TikTok comes back online in the US, now displaying a welcome message crediting his "efforts."

• From what I'm hearing now, users who still have the app are saying it feels different since it came back, and their timelines are filled with videos celebrating POTUS-elect and his return to office, whether or not that type of content would typically appear based on their algorithm.

...and I've seen the result that comes up when you google* it, but I don't want to use that until I'm sure it's not a joke.
* Brand name that's now a verb!