By Jenny Rapson 
As parents, we should all know the potential dangers of social media before we allow our kids to engage with it or have their own accounts. But, there are some social media dangers that you just can’t prepare for and one is currently taking TikTok by storm. It’s a graphic video of a young man dying by suicide, and if you are on TikTok at all, it’s extremely hard to avoid seeing it.
How can a graphic suicide video be all over the most popular social media app for teens?
Easy. There are plenty of sickos on social media and they are uploading this video faster than TikTok can take it down.
It all started late last month when a young man tragically live-streamed his suicide on Facebook. The social media giant was quick to remove the video the same day it appeared, and has been largely successful at using automation technology to remove copies and uploads since then.
Thwarted on Facebook, the bad actors who have copies of this video began uploading them to TikTok Sunday night.
Unfortunately, TikTok has proved far less successful at removing this graphic video of a young man ending his life, and because of this lots of young TikTok users are being traumatized. The video has been re-uploaded and shared thousands of times, and that’s not even the worst part.
The worst part is the slimeballs who are uploading it have now resorted to hiding the video in two ways that ensure a LOT of kids will see it.
The first place you might accidentally see the suicide video is the “For You” page (FYP). This is an endless stream of trending TikToks that play automatically as you scroll without any warnings or filters.
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The second way the video is being hidden is even more insidious. Hackers are uploading the footage of a man’s suicide into the middle of seemingly innocent videos aimed at kids. So, your innocent kiddo may be watching a puppy or kitten video and —BAM!!—all of a sudden see a man taking his life right in the middle of it. This is a disgusting case of deceit aimed at harming children and it makes me sick.
Yes it is gruesome and absolutely traumatizing. My poor child witnessed it yesterday!! She is distraught!!
— Erica Calluna (@CallunaErica) September 7, 2020
Though TikTok is truly trying to get this under control, it does NOT appear to be going well.
So, if you want to protect your kids from a gruesome sight that may scar them for life and exploits a family’s tragedy, you need to keep them off TikTok for at least another week and monitor the company’s social media channels for updates on their progress at cleansing their platform from this scourge.
I feel so disheartened for this man’s family, and for any social media user who has seen something no one ever should. Be vigilant, parents. These days, it’s an absolute MUST when your child uses any social media. This is serious. The video is graphic and traumatizing. Get in front of your child’s scroll and make sure they do not see this tragedy unfold.
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