Of course propaganda works. That's why companies spent tons of money on ads.

Of course it also works on politics, especially if people don't trust "traditional" media, but arbitrary publishers (there's room for a guiding which is more trustworthy)

History over and over has shown that a public can be led into their own demise, including brutal war.

How much active influence China takes I don't know (and I never used tiktok) but we are certainly in a time of massive disinformation and denial of facts. Globally.