News Alert: Viral Social Media Video

Image Credits: Sheldon Cooper/SOPA Images/LightRocket / Getty Images

Social media platforms are struggling to contain a graphic viral video.

TikTok is trying to remove a disturbing video showing up on people’s For You pages. (link)*

"A graphic video of a man ... spread across TikTok  early this week, and the company is still working to remove it. Originating on Facebook Live, the clip was uploaded onto TikTok over the weekend and began to take root in users’ algorithmic recommendations.

While the video first made the jump from Facebook  in full, some TikTok users have now spliced it into unrelated videos so that other people view the clip without intending to when it pops up on the “For You” page. On TikTok, the For You page serves as the front page of the app, feeding users a stream of content tailored just for them. ...

TikTok’s community moved to police itself as the video circulated, issuing warnings to followers to stay vigilant for the clip, which begins by showing a man with long hair and a beard on the phone seated at a desk. To play it safe, it’s not a bad idea to take a break from watching anything from users you don’t know until TikTok manages to thoroughly remove the disturbing clip from the platform."

See my previous post on helping your students navigate social media (link).

*The link is to an article on a blog called TechCrunch.com, not to the video itself.