TikTok's CEO got coached by ex-Obama and Disney advisers for a month before his viral Congress hearing, which saw his followers on the app increase 16,000%

• TikTok hired former Obama and Disney advisers to coach its CEO before his congressional hearing, per WSJ.

• Shou Zi Chew has seen his follower count on TikTok rise from 18,700 to 3 million in 8 days.

• The company's PR strategy has been praised by experts for Chew's informal manner.

TikTok hired former advisers to Barack Obama and Disney to coach its CEO, Shou Zi Chew, for over a month before his viral Congress hearing, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The trio, which reportedly included David Plouffe and Jim Messina – who worked on Obama's presidential campaigns – and Disney's former communications chief, Zenia Mucha, was brought in to help advise the company in its fight against the Biden administration's efforts to ban TikTok.

Chew was largely unknown before the hearing last Thursday, with just under 19,000 followers on the app, per Reuters. Eight days later, that number sits at around 3 million – an increase of nearly 16,000%.

While some analysts were critical of his testimony – one described it as a "disaster moment," for TikTok – many of the app's users appeared to side with Chew as he gained millions of new followers. Several commenters praised his response to Rep. Richard Hudson, who asked "does TikTok access the home Wi-Fi network?" – a question that drew mockery from the app's users for its apparent ignorance.