Update 11:15am CT: After publication, TikTok banned Nick Fuentes and several other Groyper accounts. They issued the following statement:.

“We are committed to promoting a safe and positive app environment for our users. Our Community Guidelines outline behavior that is not acceptable on the platform, and we take action against behavior that violates those policies, including by removing content or accounts.”

The original post follows below.

White nationalists and far-right figures have found a new platform to spread their messages and expand their following, moving to TikTok, Gen Z’s current favorite app. 

The move is being led by Nick Fuentes, who is bringing his loyal, white nationalist “Groyper” following with him. 

“I never got into it cuz (sic) I can’t dance or anything, so I was always … I’m not going to do the ‘Renegade,’” Fuentes stated on Sunday referring to the wildly popular dance of TikTok. 

But he’s since changed his tune.

“We’re on TikTok and we’re going to be using TikTok because it’s fun, because why not?” Fuentes added. He then gave credit to a fellow Groyper who came up with the idea to move to the platform while adding, “It was his idea, he suggested … we get serious about making an American First Hype House on TikTok and bring the Groypers on TikTok … and I think it’s a great idea because you know, when you think about social media, our biggest presence as a political movement is on Twitter.”

As the Daily Dot wrote last year:

A Groyper is a member of Fuentes’ movement of his brand of “alt-right” white nationalism. The alt-right is a loose collection of conservatives that harbor white nationalists. Fuentes is currently one of its most public faces.

As their chosen mascot, Groypers took hold of an exploitable illustration of Pepe the Frog. While iterations of Pepe are commonly used within the far-right, this version is of Pepe resting a conspicuous face against his two hands.

Fuentes further stated that the problem with Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube is that they all have “these restrictions, regulations, community guidelines, terms of service that are obstructive and restrictive,” while adding, “I think TikTok is going to be a great outlet for political content, but particularly for young people, for zoomers…” 

“We’re trying to appeal to a younger audience,” Fuentes added. 

Asked why he has joined the platform, Fuentes didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment from the Daily Dot.

His white nationalist venture seems to be a work in progress. On Tuesday while making a TikTok, Fuentes apparently became overcome with rage and destroyed a trash can. 

“I got so mad making this one [TikTok] that I smashed a garbage can,” he wrote with a picture attached to the message of a shattered plastic waste bin. “I kept accidentally deleting good takes and my phone kept falling off the table, I was so upset.” 

But the rest of their use of the platform seems to be going much smoother. Fuentes has been pushing a list of other far-right figureheads who are on the platform as well, hoping to grow their audience.

The list, on messaging app Telegram, includes the likes of Vincent James Foxx, a far-right YouTuber, and alt-right personality Tim “Baked Alaska” Gionet. 

Now, they are using the platform to start another “Groyper War,” their effort to attack conservative Trump supporters who hold a slightly mainstream conservative view.    

Other college-aged followers of Fuentes including Jaden McNeil and Patrick Casey have joined the TikTok movement.

They touted the response their presence on the platform received Tuesday on Telegram, noting that “apparently these TikTok dummies are blocking all groypers.” 

Fuentes and his crowd have specifically used the “duet” feature on TikTok— which allows them to respond to Trump-supporting MAGA teens in their own videos.

In one video, Fuentes could be seen responding to a user by putting on a Cookie Monster hat—a reference to his own Holocuast denialism, which he has once made while using a baking analogy. 

Casey—a white nationalist who is currently president of Identity Evropa, now known as the “American Identity Movement,” which seeks to recruit white, college-aged men for their organization—joined Fuentes on the platform.

The ability for Fuentes to “go live” and talk directly to the young demographic on TikTok has become a main appeal, as a way to further reach an audience while navigating his YouTube ban. 

Following violations of terms of service and being booted from YouTube and Reddit, Fuentes continues to expand his following on other platforms such as Twitter and DLive

TikTok appears to be the next front for white nationalists when it comes to the internet culture wars. They’ve even tried to catch some of the zeitgeist of the app, as the crowd of white nationalists has also made a TikTok account parroting the infamous “Hype House,” creating the “AF Hype House.” 

It currently has no posts, however.

Groypers flooding TikTok is just a continuation of Fuentes’ fight with younger conservative activists.

Last year, he started an online and in-person feud against the college student activist organization Turning Point USA (TPUSA)—where Fuentes and his far-right fans trolled Charlie Kirk and Donald Trump Jr. for not having “conservative” enough principles.

Predominantly, they consider current conservatives weak on immigration and despise any support for Israel.

The move to the youth-focused platform has even been praised by the movement’s elders. Conservative blogger Michelle Malkin, a fan of Fuentes’ immigration views, wrote on Telegram Tuesday night that while she supports the move to the social media site, she wouldn’t be joining them. 

“Mommy Malkin is way too old for TikTok but I wholeheartedly support the mass migration of Groypers and ‘AF-ers’ to that foreign soil,” Malkin stated. 

READ MORE:

• YouTube permanently suspends white nationalist Nick Fuentes
• Charlie Kirk has finally had it with these white nationalists in his movement
• White nationalist YouTubers are furious attractive women are becoming MAGA stars

The post Nick Fuentes and his white nationalist ‘Groyper Army’ have a new home on TikTok appeared first on The Daily Dot.

Finding your celebrity doppelganger can be a flattering, humbling, or outright baffling experience, depending on which celebrity you end up looking like. The “I look like a celebrity check” challenge has exploded on TikTok as users reveal their famous lookalikes, and one woman recently went viral for showing the world that her boyfriend looks astoundingly like Ed Sheeran.

The woman, whose account is fittingly named @edsheerandouble, has dedicated her TikTok almost exclusively to showing how much her boyfriend looks like the “Shape of You” singer, posting dozens of videos highlighting the similarity. The account has more than 197,000 followers, and her old videos routinely earned tens of thousands of views. But when @edsheerandouble joined the “I look like a celebrity check” challenge, the ensuing video exploded with 16 million views, 3 million likes, and 32,000 comments.

It’s easy to see why @edsheerandouble has the internet shook. Upon first glance, it’s nearly impossible to tell the two apart. The thin, side-swept red hair, the medium-cropped beard, the distant, vaguely uneasy stare: They’re all there. The dude even dabbles on the guitar, as seen in a previous TikTok where he busks before unwitting pedestrians.

The general reactions on @edsheerandouble’s viral video are, unsurprisingly, shock and awe. “YOU CANT TELL ME THATS NOT ED SHEERAN!” one user wrote.

“He looks more like Ed Sheeran than Ed Sheeran,” another commented.

One user seemed to have cracked the code on why the man in the video looked so uncomfortable (besides the fact that his girlfriend showed off his celebrity likeness for the world to see): “He’s nervous because he’s actually Ed Sheeran and he’s just been exposed.”

If @edsheerandouble’s videos keep exploding at this rate, her “boyfriend” might end up becoming just as popular as the “”real Ed Sheeran”” soon.

READ MORE:

• TikTok shows how domestic abuse victims can use pizza to hide 911 calls
• ‘Blinding Lights’ challenge sweeps TikTok—thanks to Nicole Scherzinger and Jenny McCarthy
• Trump calling coronavirus a ‘brilliant enemy’ becomes a TikTok sensation

The post This TikToker’s boyfriend looks exactly like Ed Sheeran, and people are shook appeared first on The Daily Dot.

If 2019 was the summer of White Claw, then—by all accounts—it appears that 2020 will be the summer of White Claw slushies. Yes, yes, we all know that 2020 will actually be the summer of quarantine, probably. But inside our quarantined homes, enterprising drinkers are putting their own spin on the beverage by using a variety of ingredients such as fresh or frozen fruit, vodka or other liquors, and various mixers to whip up a batch of delicious White Claw slushies.

TikTok users, in particular, are sharing their concoctions—because bro, if you don’t post on TikTok did you even make a White Claw slushie? The following version from user Alex Victoria uses a tasteful mix of diced mango, mango Claw, Tito’s (which pairs nicely with White Claw even under regular circumstances), a little Schweppes ginger ale, ice, and then smash the blend button on that bad boy.

Then there’s this easy-breezy version from Julia Abner—which she dubs the “my parents still pay for all of my bills cocktail”—which involves frozen mixed berries, lemon Claw, and a generous pouring of Tito’s.

“If you don’t have a blender, a great substitution is to go fuck yourself,” Abner adds, before pouring her slushie into a mason jar. (The most important part, natch.)

This recipe is a take on a “skinny” margarita recipe, which also uses frozen diced mango, mango Claw, and tequila.

This innovative White Claw slushie uses a mix of Raspberry Claw, frozen strawberries, and moonshine.

Others are pretty basic with their White Claw slushies, simply blending the beverage with frozen fruit.

Have a seat, frosé.

READ MORE:

• Mark Warner’s tuna melt tutorial is an abomination
• This Four Loko hard seltzer is basically a meme in a can
• The 2020 Summer Olympics have been delayed due to the coronavirus

The post White Claw slushies are TikTok’s new favorite beverage appeared first on The Daily Dot.

We’ve had a lot of free time over the last month or so, and that’s led to some detours into questionable fashion and viral dances. But the resurgence of the “glow down” challenge on TikTok is really magnifying this period of isolation.

As BuzzFeed notes, earlier this month TikTok user Gabrielle McDonald reflected on the TikTok “glow up” trend that shows how participants transformed from awkward teens to hot adults. But she wanted to see photos of people who “physically peaked in high school” versus what they look like now: the glow down.

She posted her own, to be fair.

Others followed.

Some of these “glow downs” appear to have only happened over the last few years, and the participants still look great. The definition of “peak” body can and must change over the years. But some people took it back even further.

Glow downs have been a trend on TikTok for a while. A trend in which people shared theirs (and celebrity glow downs), soundtracked by a warped remix of “Please Mr. Postman,” was popular in 2019.

But we’ve had a lot of time to reflect recently: staring into Zoom meetings and Face Times, seeing our pale visages staring back at us. The glow down is eternal. Embrace it.

READ MORE:

• White Claw slushies are TikTok’s new favorite beverage
• This viral TikTok has people backseat parenting a baby
• TikTokers are twerking and fist bumping to the ‘Twilight’ soundtrack

The post The TikTok glow down challenge is seeing a resurgence appeared first on The Daily Dot.

The trend of TikTok creators impersonating Ariana Granda caught the eye of the “Thank U, Next” singer.

She responded to writer and actor Jordan Firstman’s “impressions of a meme” video in a now-deleted Instagram Story, according to the New York Post.

In a series of videos, Firstman did some “impressions” of different people and things. One of which was his “impression of a meme.”

“What if we like (take) a small clip from like a movie or TV show (of) something that this artist put their heart and soul into … recontextualize it … and gave it an arbitrary meaning,” he says in his Instagram video.

“Omg can this please also double as your impression of the pony tail tik tok girls who think doing the cat valentine voice and that wearing winged eyeliner and a sweatshirt is doing a good impersonation of me,” she wrote on her story. “cause this really how it feels … ‘degrading it’s entire value’ I screamed.”

While Grande has since deleted the post, according to the Post, it can still be seen in screenshot form floating around the Twitter-verse.

READ MORE:

• This TikTok teen looks exactly like Ariana Grande–and fans are terrified
• Ariana Grande responds to meme mocking how she washes her hands amid coronavirus
• Ariana Grande spoke with TikTok teen who looks exactly like her

H/T New York Post

The post Ariana Grande calls TikTok trend of people impersonating her ‘degrading’ appeared first on The Daily Dot.

Last weekend, people flooded city streets across the United States in order to protest local stay-at-home orders related to the spread of coronavirus. One TikTok user went viral for calling bullshit. 

Protesters showed up en masse at the state capitol in Lansing, Michigan, where Gov. Gretchen Whitmer reportedly ordered to shut down the parts of big-box stores that sell “nonessential” items and limited interstate travel. The demonstration, known as #OperationGridlock, included thousands of Karens, many of whom demanded that local hair and nail salons reopen so they could exercise their basic human rights to be pampered by underpaid beauticians.

TikTok user @rebabeba (or Rebecca) was captivated by one such Karen who revealed her extensive undyed roots to a cameraperson and insisted that Whitmer’s stay-at-home orders kept her from fixing her hair. Rebecca had a hard time believing somebody’s roots could go so haywire in just a few weeks, so she did some calculations to get to the bottom of it. 

Michigan’s stay-at-home order began on March 24, or 28 days before Rebecca uploaded her video to Tiktok (April 21). She calculated the average monthly hair growth (half an inch) and the average length of a woman’s pointer finger (108 mm) for scale. Using these figures, Rebecca measured the approximate length of the woman’s roots and estimated that she hadn’t gotten her hair dyed since October. 

Rebecca’s investigative reporting quickly went viral; her Tiktok video has nearly 323,000 views and 80,000 likes. “Sis did her research,” reads the top comment, which has nearly 8,600 likes itself. Another commenter highlighted the obvious frivolity of these protests, writing, “I love how her main concern is her roots while we’re out here at over 32,000 cases and growing with almost 1,000 new cases everyday.” 

The TikTok sensation quickly migrated to Twitter, where Mark Hamill shared it. “This is what happens when people have too much free time on their hands,” the Star Wars alum wrote in a tweet that has surpassed 28,000 likes. 

In Rebecca’s defense, if Karens would stop hitting the streets to demand that a bad haircut and dye job are essential rights, then she wouldn’t have to make viral videos calling them on their foolishness. 

READ MORE:

• Ariana Grande calls TikTok trend of people impersonating her ‘degrading’
• This TikToker’s boyfriend looks exactly like Ed Sheeran, and people are shook
• The TikTok glow down challenge is seeing a resurgence

H/T Insider

The post This TikTok exposes the protester who blamed her undyed roots on quarantine appeared first on The Daily Dot.

Ladies and gentlemen, nonbinary and genderqueer folks, we regret to inform you that the youths are up to it again. And by “it,” we mean faking seizures, as well as their own deaths, on TikTok. It’s known as the “seizure challenge,” and it’s re-emerging as part of the app’s “something traumatic” trend.

It all started last year when TikTok users began performing the so-called seizure challenge to rapper Juice WRLD’s song “Lucid Dreams,” which involved pretending to have a seizure and spitting out water. Juice WRLD himself later eerily died of a seizure at a Chicago airport, leading to people freaking out about “predicting” his death.

Coincidence or not, one might think that, at the very least, kids might realize that seizures are no laughing matter. Yet here we are.

Two high-profile teenage TikTok users, 16-year-old Diego Martir and 17-year-old Haley Orona, who have over 10 million followers between the two of them, have both come under fire for participating in the seizure challenge. Orona has since deleted her video, but Martir’s is still active at the time of this writing.

In Martir’s clip, his girlfriend Lauren is seen crying with her mascara smudged, as the audio clip “ayo, something traumatic happened that changed my life check” begins to play. A text block over the video says: “Diego just had a seizure and passed away, here’s the footage I’m sorry that I have to tell you guys like this.”

The camera then switches to Martir, who poorly acts out a seizure before suddenly twerking and slapping his butt.

The clip has gathered over a half-million likes, but not everyone was quite so amused by his seizure challenge. Although Martir himself commented, “it’s a trend, pls don’t come for us,” some evoked Disney Channel star Cameron Boyce, who died at the age of 20 last year after suffering a seizure in his sleep, which had been the result of an ongoing medical condition.

Other TikTok clips use the same audio—user @courtneyleehewitt’s “Something Traumatic”—in similar videos where they fake seizures or pretend to have other accidents.

In extremely poor taste or not, it seems as if the seizure challenge is here to stay—at least until the next trend takes over.

READ MORE:

• This TikTok exposes the protester who blamed her undyed roots on quarantine
• White Claw slushies are TikTok’s new favorite beverage
• The TikTok glow down challenge is seeing a resurgence

H/T TooFab

The post People are still faking seizures on TikTok appeared first on The Daily Dot.

A group of Woodridge, Chicago students are being investigated after a racist video showing several minors wearing blackface was posted to TikTok.

The footage, captioned “How to steal somebody’s girl,” was uploaded by user @maggiejoyce21215 and showed three young girls dancing and applying blackface makeup. When they finished putting on the blackface, they stuck their middle fingers up at the camera, and the “N-word” flashed across the top of the screen. The video has since been removed from the TikTok account it was posted to.

On April 22, the local police department caught wind of the video, but by then, several parents and students from Woodridge School District 68 had already viewed it. Both the district and the police initiated investigations into the incident.

In response to the public debacle, the district also released a statement condemning the students’ actions.

“As a District, we are extremely disappointed that this occurred, and we strongly condemn it,” the message posted to Facebook read. “When this type of conduct occurs, as a District we have failed, despite our best efforts in teaching tolerance, equity and understanding in our schools.”

The district assured everyone that disciplinary action would be taken and praised those who called attention to the footage.

Even the the city’s politicians took the time to address the incident.

“This video hurt many of our neighbors, and it happened when we all need to help and support each other,” Woodridge Mayor Gina Cunningham said in a statement. “I’m hopeful that those involved will learn from this matter and understand Woodridge’s unwavering commitment to being an inclusive community.”

The Daily Dot reached out to @maggiejoyce21215 but did not receive a response by publication time.

READ MORE:

• Teens are getting doxed for racist ‘how’s my form?’ TikToks
• Teen suspended over TikTok blames ‘racist boyfriend,’ begs people to stop notifying her prospective college
• 2 white high schoolers expelled over racist TikTok

H/T NBCChicago

The post Police investigating TikTok of students in blackface appeared first on The Daily Dot.

Ariana Grande is not having it with these “degrading” imitations of her on TikTok—and her most famous lookalike has something to say about it. 

Last November, teenage TikTok user Paige Niemann became an internet sensation for posting videos and photos of herself wearing hair and makeup like Grande’s—and bearing an uncanny resemblance to her. 

In one video, Niemann impersonated Grande’s voice as Cat Valentine from the Nickelodeon show Victorious that Grande starred in.

Initially, Grande said that her doppelgänger was likely “the sweetest sweet sweetheart forreal.” But it turns out the bizarreness of the whole act struck a nerve.

On Wednesday, Grande reposted a video by writer and comedian Jordan Firstman to her Instagram Story. In it, he discusses how memes devalue the “something that an artist really poured their soul into.”

Firstman also chided meme creators who assign “a completely arbitrary meaning” to something the original creator “loves so much.”

“Kind of like degrading its entire value,” he said.

Grande appears to agree. On her Instagram Story, she wrote, “Omg can this please also double as your impression of the ponytail TikTok girls who think doing that Cat Valentine voice and that wearing winged eyeliner and a sweatshirt is doing a good impersonation of me…”

“Cause this really how it feels,” the singer reportedly wrote. “‘Degrading its entire value’ I screamed.”

While Grande later deleted the story, she didn’t do so before Niemann saw it—and responded via her own Instagram Live.

“I’m used to Ariana shading me, so it’s whatever,” Niemann said, according to BuzzFeed. “I’m just here to entertain people. It’s not how I am in real life. It’s kind of why I’m not a fan of her anymore, honestly.”

READ MORE:

• Everything you need to know to get started on TikTok
• This TikTok teen looks exactly like Ariana Grande–and fans are terrified
• Ariana Grande calls TikTok trend of people impersonating her ‘degrading’
• Ariana Grande calls TikTok trend of people impersonating her ‘degrading’

H/T Daily Mail

The post Ariana Grande’s TikTok teen lookalike no longer a fan appeared first on The Daily Dot.

Kids are starting to get in on the Tiger King meme fun, and obviously, they’re flexing on everyone else. Four kids gave a stellar performance to the “Tiger King/Savage” mashup on TikTok, and viewers are obsessed with these little icons.

The children dressed as Carole Baskin, Baskin’s late husband Don Lewis, Joe Exotic, and of course, one of Baskin’s tigers.

The kids basically acted out one of the main theories about Lewis’ death while doing their own version of the “Savage” dance.

Little Baskin whipped out a “knife” and “slit” Lewis’ throat, along to the lyrics “Carole Baskin/killed her husband/whacked him.”

Once little Lewis was “dead,” the tiger eats him, while small Exotic in the back eats it up to “can’t convince me/that it didn’t happen/fed him to tigers/they snackin’.”

The video ends with Baskin standing victoriously over her dead husband while serving looks, and Joe Exotic whipping out a nerf gun.

Viewers were obsessed with the children’s fabulous performance.

“Little Joe was in character okayy,” one user tweeted.

“She’s an icon. She’s a legend and she IS the moment,” one user said about little Baskin’s iconic hair flip at the end.

“If they get robbed from a Grammy and Oscar we riot,” another user said.

Even Megan Thee Stallion herself was impressed with the kids.

“Look at lil Joe,” she tweeted with crying laughing emoji.

The TikToker who posted the video, @allysonshoulders, hasn’t uploaded another video with the kids yet, but fans are holding out hope for more content.

READ MORE:

• A mashup of ‘Tiger King’ and ‘Savage’ is fueling TikTok’s obsession
• Jessica Alba goes viral for ‘Savage’ TikTok dance moves
• Megan Thee Stallion’s ‘Savage’ goes viral on TikTok

The post Kids recreate ‘Tiger King’ in Megan Thee Stallion-approved TikTok appeared first on The Daily Dot.

Sixteen-year-old Alexis Loveraz has gained a massive following on TikTok for virtual tutoring his peers in algebra, geometry, and chemistry.

The Bronx teen started making math, science, and SAT prep videos a few weeks before schools shut down. But now that students all over the country are learning from home and turning to online resources, he’s launched to success with about 331,000 followers and more than 3.4 million likes.

The high school junior, with a 4.0 average, has been dubbed the “TikTok Tutor,” according to CBS New York.

“I was, like, really shocked,” Alexis told CBS New York. “Things that they probably forgot like before COVID-19, this is like a refresher of what I’m, like, giving them out. It’s really cool because they understand it even better the way I’m explaining it to them.”

Many of the comments on his videos are students saying they’ve learned more from the TikTok videos than from their actual teachers and tutors.

“Sir I have learned more from you in these videos than in my three years of Saturday SAT Prep,” TikTok user @karinagonzalez1874 commented.

Loveraz told CBS New York that his friends encouraged him to post tips and tutorials on the app. He also created Google Classrooms where more than 2,000 students, from the United States, Canada, Australia, the Philippines, and Singapore, gather to study together.

“I think people have to depend on YouTube videos and TikToks to learn even more,” Loveraz told Business Insider. 

Loveraz’s mother, Likmilian Hiciano, is surprised by how many people are following her son’s videos.

“I’m excited about this. I know he can do this and more. I’m so proud that he helped a lot of people,” Hiciano told CBS.

READ MORE:

• Kids recreate ‘Tiger King’ in Megan Thee Stallion-approved TikTok
• Ariana Grande’s TikTok teen lookalike no longer a fan
• Police investigating TikTok of students in blackface

H/T CBS New York

The post Teen goes viral on TikTok for being an ingenious math tutor appeared first on The Daily Dot.

TikTok megastar Charli D’Amelio fired back at critics who have body-shamed her in a pointed Twitter thread on Monday.

“STOP TALKING ABOUT MY BODY! It’s not your place to tell me if I’m gaining or losing weight,” the 15-year-old social media star said.

Body-shaming comments D’Amelio received after posting a picture on Instagram of herself in a bikini served as the impetus for her Twitter thread, according to BuzzFeed.

One user reportedly commented, “That is not a woman’s body, women’s [bodies] are not long like that.” D’amelio has since deleted the post. 

“Why don’t we all just be respectful and understand that we should just be kind and uplift everyone instead of trying to bring others down,” D’Amelio continued. “I’ve seen these videos about me my friends and complete strangers but it doesn’t matter who you’re doing it to. It’s never okay and I feel like I really needed to say that I love you all but please stop!!”

Since posting her first video on TikTok last May, D’Amelio has rocketed to viral stardom for her dancing and lip-syncing videos. She has amassed nearly 52 million TikTok followers, becoming the platform’s most-followed user. She also has 16 million Instagram followers and 1.4 million Twitter followers. 

Unfortunately, such meteoric success for girls and young women often leads to gross comments from adults who feel the need to criticize or objectify them. Popstar Billie Eilish similarly addressed body-shaming in a video interlude during her tour kickoff last month.

“You have opinions about my opinions, about my music, about my clothes, about my body,” she said during the interlude. “Some people hate what I wear, some people praise it. Some people use it to shame others, some people use it to shame me.”

TikTok star Addison Rae also shut down body-shamers on Twitter last night.

“It is not your job to judge the appearance of another person’s face and/or body,” she wrote. “Just because you can be mean to someone, doesn’t mean you should be.” 

READ MORE:

• The TikTok ‘stars’ are coming
• TikTok star Charli D’Amelio is in a Super Bowl ad for hummus
• Who is Addison Rae, TikTok’s hottest star?

The post Charli D’Amelio slams body-shamers on Twitter appeared first on The Daily Dot.

Joe Biden might be the presumptive Democratic nominee, but there’s one section of the electorate he’s clearly still struggling with: the TikTok vote.

In January, a song begging “please don’t make me vote for Joe Biden” went viral on the platform. Now, users are expressing their dismay at having to choose between two presidential candidates who have both been accused of sexual assault.

Last month, Tara Reade said Biden sexually assaulted her when she worked in his Senate office in the 1990s. While Biden has denied the allegations, recent reports have lent further support to Reade’s account. There has since been significant backlash on Twitter over the lack of coverage of the claims in some major publications.

On TikTok, the news fueled a new meme comparing the former vice president with current President Donald Trump. At least 19 women say they have been sexually assaulted by Trump. The president has repeatedly dismissed any wrongdoing beyond “locker room talk.”

As it’s becoming clear leaders on both the left and right are willing to overlook accusations of their preferred candidate, leave it to kids on TikTok to have a moral compass.

READ MORE:

• Top adviser accused of deleting Me Too tweets after Biden sexual assault allegations
• Twitter is locking accounts that share a fake ad mocking Biden’s brain
• Has this clip of Biden with his tongue out destroyed the fabric of democracy?

The post TikTok’s dark new 2020 meme: Either way you’re voting for a rapist appeared first on The Daily Dot.

After numerous bouts of controversy on Tiktok—which included critiquing one of the platform’s most famous stars—several people are calling for blogger Perez Hilton to be banned from the app.

A petition on Change.org has garnered over 69,000 signatures calling for Hilton’s removal, Distractify reports.

“Perez Hilton is SCARY. Plain and simple,” said Delara Panahi, creator of the Change.org petition calling for Hilton’s removal from TikTok. “He is currently 42 years old, and attacks young teenagers (15 years old) for wearing BATHING SUITS.”

Panahi remarks address a comment Hilton made in response to a TikTok from Charli D’Amelio back in March that showed the 15-year-old dancing while on vacation, Distractify reports.

“Anyone else think it’s inappropriate for a 15-year-old to dance to this?” Hilton commented.

Immediately, users were quick to question Hilton about the attention he gave D’Amelio, who later tweeted, “I will continue to post when i feel happy and confident so if me wearing a swimsuit at the beach is a problem well sucks to suck doesn’t it. ”

Numerous TikToks from Hilton have been called into question for “(teasing) full nudity,” Distractify reports, and the platform also banned one of the blogger’s live streams.

He also has been banned several times from posting comments on TikTok due to his tendency to post on top users’ content, according to Distractify. Just two days ago Hilton posted about how the platform banned him from commenting on videos until May 1.

He captioned the post, “Dear @tiktok, I know that in China they don’t value free speech. I understand why your system works how it does! Get my new memoir! Link in bio!”

Hilton has also been called out for accusing British diver Tom Daley, 25, for kissing TikTok star Tyler Downs, who is 16, the Daily Dot previously reported.

Numerous Twitter users chimed in about Hilton’s behavior on TikTok, expressing worry about his behavior toward teens.

D’Amelio retweeted a screenshot of the petition to ban Hilton from TikTok, and Hilton posted how influencer James Charles liked the tweet.

Called the “a bad-talking blogger celebs love to hate,” the media personality, whose real name is Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr., has caught the ire of countless Hollywood fixtures over the years. As the landscape for media entertainment has continued to evolve, Hilton has racked up a not-so-ideal history with social media websites.

However, Hilton is soaking up the attention from his TikTok controversies. He posted on Twitter and TikTok about coverage of the petition, seeming to relish in being the topic of headlines.

As his latest ban from commenting on TikTok comes to a close, it remains to be seen if his presence on the app will completely wane with time, especially if Gen Z has anything to say about it.

READ MORE:

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The post Over 60,000 sign petition to ban Perez Hilton from TikTok for ‘attacking young kids’ appeared first on The Daily Dot.

Earlier this month, Jeff Wright posted a TikTok in which he plays a human and two aliens looking to take over Earth. The conversation centers around our “used” planet and the casual absurdity of first contact, with one hell of a kicker.

The video went viral on Twitter, trailed by comments like “I’d watch this show” and “I’d be fine with the planet being taken over by aliens that look like that,” and it brought the word “questers” into the conversation. It got retweeted by Trevor Noah, and has more than 8.6 million views on TikTok. But Wright tells the Daily Dot the video wasn’t even “exactly all the way how I saw it in my head. In my head it’s a lot more detailed but I can only make three of myself.” 

Still, it resonated, which might have something to do with a need for relatable humor during this extended period of isolation and grief. (The Pentagon essentially confirming that UFOs are real this week barely registered as news.) Wright says he was inspired by a movie where earthlings were trying to make contact with another planet.

“And I was like, that is a terrible idea. You don’t even know the alien’s intent. Why has no one stopped humans from talking to aliens? That idea evolved into, OK, let’s say it’s too late to stop people from talking to aliens. You were the first one to interact with aliens, and they had dialogue.” He laments that aliens are always portrayed as “so monotone and so dry.” Why not punch them up? 

Wright utilizes the three or four-person format in his TikToks, playing all the characters in tightly edited scenes. He often uses the comparative format, personifying social media or music streaming platforms, brands, and airlines. It’s a common format on TikTok, where Wright has more than 1.4 million followers. (Last year user @keatsdidit went viral for his “If the planets had a meeting” TikTok.) Wright says the format is “easy to do, hard to edit. If I could I’d make 17 characters.” 

One of his breakout videos was a sketch about logging into Gmail, in which he played himself and Google’s “security.” But his signature might be his series of videos from heaven, in which he plays God, Jesus, the devil, and versions of himself, typically kicked off by an awe-struck “Oh wowww.” 

Wright, who resides in Orlando, has been doing standup comedy since high school, which helps with punching up and heightening. He writes a script for each video—“nothing crazy”—in order to get it to fit under a minute, and says he’s typically trying to act out what he’s already visualized.  

Wright calls out Christopher Renois, Rich Black Guy, Ray the Great, and LeBron James’ sons Bronny and Bryce as some of his favorite creators, but adds it’s also a little “weird” to hear his audio on other people’s TikToks uncredited, which happens often on the app—the sharing of audio and sounds is one of its foundational features, though TikTok has also made an effort to label the “original” video. Earlier this month, Black creators voiced their frustration about original content getting overshadowed or co-opted. 

Still, Wright says, “If you put out quality content, it will be seen on TikTok, for sure. That’s what I really, really love about TikTok. You can really do whatever you want and it’s gonna get seen.” 

The comments on Wright’s TikToks—many of them calling for him to be verified—reinforce that. “I just want people to be happy,” he says. “That’s why I made these videos in the first place. …The fact that I act as all the characters, I’m always going to be the butt of the joke. So I hope everyone realizes that it’s all pure.” 

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The post TikToker Jeff Wright talks making aliens relatable and playing multiple characters appeared first on The Daily Dot.

The Good Place, which ran on NBC for four seasons from 2016 to 2020, was the darling comedy series from writer-producer Michael Schur (Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine), about four misfits who accidentally find themselves in the titular “Good Place” in the afterlife. (Despite their seemingly best efforts during their time on earth to get there.)

In the very first episode, the very scientific Good Place points system is laid out by neighborhood architect Michael (Ted Danson)—who explains, how exactly, this determines who makes the cut, based on all the good and bad things an individual has done throughout the course of their lives.

We won’t spoil any of the (quite numerous) twists and turns that play out for those who might be starting to binge the series. However, the Good Place points system has now become a very good TikTok meme, by users joking about the positive or negative points they’re tallying with their own personal actions.

The first known example of the meme occurred on April 7, 2020, according to Know Your Meme, when user @doofenshmirtz48 uploaded the following clip of her working on her laptop. “Forgot to do an assignment and told the professor it’s late due to the time difference,” she captioned the video in a text box, set to The Good Place theme song composed by David Schwartz.

As the original clip began to go viral, others joined in. Some acts of both philanthropy and wrongdoing were more weighty than others, with many joking about how their Good Place points (or lack thereof) during quarantine will stack against them come judgement day.

This user awarded herself a whopping 90,015,023 Good Place points for not damaging her hair during quarantine, which seems like something one might actually earn Bad Place points for pointing out [insert thinking face emoji].

And then there were those maniacs who got extremely TMI with their Good Place points:

On the other side of the coin, allow us to present to you this real estate agent, who added to his Good Place points by helping fix the sign of a rival real estate agent.

If these TikTok videos have anyone feeling better or worse about themselves, rest easy knowing that, much like calories, Good place points don’t actually count during quarantine. You’re forking welcome!

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The post TikTok users are tallying their ‘Good Place’ points to see how they’d fare in the afterlife appeared first on The Daily Dot.

Recreating albums covers is nothing new, but a trend on TikTok is punching it up.

The album cover challenge takes a premise and then adds an album cover recreation or song title to drive the punchline home. A majority of the videos are scored by creator @.arjunn’s remix of the Dave Brubeck Quartet’s “Kathy’s Waltz,” yet another example of an old song being revived on TikTok.

There’s a separate contigent of album cover recreations, scored by Apollo Fresh’s “JoJo Pose,” that are more straightforward.

And there’s another album cover challenge involving Animal Crossing‘s K.K. Slider.

But some of these recreations are a little too real right now.

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The post These album cover recreations on TikTok have great timing appeared first on The Daily Dot.

TikTokers are continuing to shave off part of their eyebrows for the “Fox eye challenge” during quarantine. Now, the backlash has arrived, as the trend is being called out for its racist undertones.

On the app, users are attempting to obtain a “fox eye” look similar to that of models Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid. They do this by shaving off the tails of their eyebrows with a razor and then drawing new tails on much higher and straighter.

TikTok star Melody Nafari garnered over a million views after posting her “fox eye challenge” video. A follower then explained to Nafari why this trend has racial implications. “I remember when I was in primary [school] people were making fun of Asian eyes doing this,” the follower wrote. “Now it’s a trend.”

TikTok user Melissa (@chunkysdead), who is of Asian-American descent, also spoke out against it. She expressed her discomfort, explaining that the trend is similar to when people pull their eyes back to mock Asian people.

The South China Morning Post spoke with a student at the University of California, Davis, Kim Hee-Jae, who said, “Is being Asian a trend now? It kind of feels like it is. … The fox eye thing itself is probably just an aesthetic, like a beauty trend, not racism. But it doesn’t mean that we [the Asian community] don’t feel slighted. They used to insult us for that.”

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H/T WION News

The post TikTok’s ‘fox eye challenge’ called out for being racist appeared first on The Daily Dot.

A University of Miami professor was fired after students shared a screenshot of his screen, which included a tab with a pornographic heading.

According to the Miami Hurricane student newspaper, business analytics professor John Peng Zhang was busy teaching his class via Zoom when one of his students noticed the bookmarked tab that read “Busty College girls fu…” and said something about it, prompting the entire class to take notice.

Sadly, Zhang was too busy teaching his lesson to notice that one of his students made a comment about the tab, drawing the class’s attention to it. Within moments, students shared screenshots and videos of the professor’s apparent college girl fetish to TikTok and all over social media.

One of the videos begins zoomed in on Zhang teaching his class and then the shot pans over to the bookmark.

Within a few hours, the video was reportedly viewed over 800,000 times.

To further exacerbate the situation, the professor obviously never noticed the open tab and left it up during the following class session later that evening.

It didn’t take long before various blogs and popular Instagram pages caught wind of the video, sharing it with their followers and ultimately further boosting its views.

The next day, the professor issued an apology to his students.

“I don’t know how it happened,” he said. “I didn’t see it, I’m pretty sure everybody else did…My apologies to the class.”

He also sent an email to students urging them not to share the video, saying he was “investigating” the incident.

Though Zhang did appear via Zoom to teach a few other classes after the incident, he disappeared shortly after, providing students with no explanation. His expired tenure as a professor for the university was made clear only after new professors took over his classes and issued their own syllabi.

Apparently, the new classes will be instructed via Blackboard Ultra instead of Zoom.

The university never directly responded to the incident but issued a general statement in its aftermath.

“The University of Miami aggressively investigates all complaints of inappropriate behavior or sexual harassment. After receiving a complaint through the University’s ethics hotline, the incident was investigated by the Office of the Provost, Title IX investigator and Miami Herbert Business School,” it read.

Now, according to the school paper, students are having mixed feelings about Zhang’s firing.

“[My] first thought was this is super funny,” Ethan Hartz, a freshman business student at the university, told the paper.

However, those feelings changed upon realizing the dire consequences Zhang faced. His name has since been erased from UM’s website and his email is no longer active. The school also confirmed he is no longer employed as a professor.

“I felt guilty afterward for even sharing it with my close friends,” he added.

“This is someone’s livelihood,” junior Jade Johnson told the paper. “I told my friends, this guy could lose his job.”

“I think firing him is a little extreme,” Johnson added. “He didn’t do anything illegal.”

Other students expressed less forgiving sentiments, especially because the incident involved porn related to college students.

“It was the fact he is a college professor and saved a video to his bookmarks describing college girls,” one of the students told the paper. “A video to watch over and over again.”

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H/T the Miami Hurricane

The post Professor fired after TikTok showed his ‘college girl’ porn tab in Zoom class appeared first on The Daily Dot.

A TikTok showing the moment a dog took its final breath is breaking viewers’ hearts. While some users have flocked to comfort the TikTok user who posted it, others are calling the video exploitation.

The TikTok of the dog dying has racked up nearly 3 million likes. It shows an aged dog panting in a car.

“Sparky was acting weird so we took him to the ER,” text over the video reads.

A moment later, the video shifts to show Sparky being wheeled into the vet’s office and Emma, as she calls herself on TikTok, weeping in the car.

“Turns out he had a ruptured tumor and internal bleeding,” the mid-video text explains.

The video then shifts yet again, showing Sparky as he is wheeled into an exam room by a vet.

“Little did I know I would be saying goodbye to my best friend,” the text reads as Emma strokes her pup and apologizes.

As viewers watch, Sparky takes a final breath. A moment later, the vet can be heard quietly confirming that “he’s passed.”

The video concludes with a shot of Emma and Sparky together with the caption “Fly High Baby.”

Opinions on the video are thoroughly split. Many commenters flocked to support Emma through the pain she is clearly feeling in the TikTok. They shared messages of love and solidarity, and many told stories of their own pet’s passing.

“Hearing ‘he’s passed’ killed me,” one commenter wrote. “That was the worst thing to hear when my dog was put to sleep a couple months ago. I’m so sorry for your loss.”

Other users criticized Emma’s decision to post the video to the internet. They accused her of only recording Sparky’s death for clout.

“Ok I’m sorry but why is it people’s first reactions to take out a camera and record them crying,” one person wrote.

Some users even took to Twitter to share their distaste for the video. Due to its use of TikToks’ #fyp and #foryoupage hashtags, which make videos broadly viewable by casual perusers of the platform, it was able to be seen by a ton of people.

One commenter noted, in response to criticism, that Emma had explained her reasoning for recording the process in an earlier comment. Emma had previously explained that her father was unavailable but wanted updates through the entire process, according to TikTok user @ryanbeard22.

Emma had no intent, initially, of uploading the video to TikTok. She noted in another comment that she was “doing everything to try and cope but it wasn’t working so I tried doing this and it helped some.”

Regardless of the criticism, experts say the TikTok of the dog dying does not count as exploitation. Insider spoke with James Serpell, director of the Center for the Interaction of Animals and Society at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine. He said that while it might seem odd to some to post a video of such an emotional moment, it’s no surprise it connected with so many people.

“People can identify with that experience and that’s the motivation for sharing,” he said.

The Daily Dot did not hear back from Emma by publication time.

READ MORE:

• TikTok’s ‘fox eye challenge’ called out for being racist
• Professor fired after TikTok showed his ‘college girl’ porn tab in Zoom class
• People are still faking seizures on TikTok

H/T Insider

The post TikTok user posts the moment her dog dies. People are furious appeared first on The Daily Dot.