Anti-Trump TikTok creators are highlighting a website conservative businesses can use to promote their company as “anti-woke” in hopes of inspiring their followers to find local businesses they can boycott.
But it appears the site has already caught on and is fighting back.
The online marketplace Public Square launched in 2022, aiming to be a competitor to Amazon that is rooted in conservative ideals.
The website offers a directory filled with businesses that have registered to show their alignment with Public Square’s anti-woke and right-wing stances.
But now, it’s left-wingers who are encouraging the use of that directory.
In a TikTok posted on Tuesday, one creator stated that he is “glad that they have this because it tells me every place that I will never visit,” before encouraging his followers to look up their zip code and see what businesses are listed near them.
@timothyenjoyslife #greenscreen #greenscreenvideo ♬ original sound – Timothy | Life/Travel/Random
Another creator, the same day, similarly urged his followers to “open up a private browser, go to a website called Public Square, and search your zip code.”
“For those that don’t know, Public Square is basically the Green Book, but for conservatives,” he continued. “The Green Book was a book passed around Black communities that was a list of stores and businesses that were safe for Black people to use. Public Square is the same thing for conservatives. It is a website that conservatives will register their business on to show that they are anti-woke, pro-conservative, and especially pro-life.”
“If you’re like me, you’ll search that and find that there are local businesses in your community that you will never shop at again,” he added.
@dapper.delinquent 100% unacceptable, and spreading this info around my community with haste #dapperdelinquent #leftist #democrat #progressive #politics #prochoice #socialist #lgbt #transrights ♬ original sound – Ty
Many liberal commenters were on board with the suggestion, posting things like “so public square = boycott book” and “it’s nice of them to make a list of places for us to avoid” in response to the video.
Others were amazed to find what businesses had registered near them.
“Wow. There’s realtors and THERAPISTS in my city on here,” one person replied to the first video.
“I’m in a blue city in a red state and I was surprised at how many local businesses were registered on this site. Yikes! thanks for sharing,” wrote someone else.
One TikToker posted a video showing the results of her search in Seattle, stating that she would be boycotting the businesses on the list.
“They should have never let this Public Square get out because I can see myself in your place of business with my ‘Black Girl Magic’ shirt on, my pro-choice hat, and my rainbow bracelet, filling up a basket full of stuff, talking like I’m really about to buy some,” joked another TikToker in a video.
However, it seems Public Square may have noticed the attention. While its map was previously accessible by any user, it now requires new visitors to make an account before searching on the site.
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