TikTok is full of various trends and challenges. In fact, that is what makes the app so addicting. However, not all trends are good; and every once in a while, we see a new one emerge that makes us stop dead in our tracks. A trend that has emerged on TikTok has creators role-playing as victims of one of the darkest periods in human history.
What is the TikTok holocaust trend?
A new trend has emerged on TikTok that has creators creating point-of-view videos or POV. These videos are quite creative since there is no real script but the creators simply react to how the situation would have been. The POV videos are personally skewered to how certain individuals would react in certain circumstances.
The latest trend with regard to these POV videos is quite bizarre and also offensive. It involves creators dressing up as Holocaust victims and role-playing how they would react in such circumstances. Some videos even have people talking to ‘God’ once they have died in the concentration camps.
Creators are going to great lengths to dress up in tattered clothes and contour their faces in order to look like they have actually been in a concentration camp. Point of view videos, as the name suggests, are videos that are shot from defined viewpoints. Unlike normal videos that are shot from an audience’s point of view, these videos are shot from the person’s (actor’s) point of view and tend to be very engaging.
Why are the Holocaust videos suddenly surfacing on your TikTok feed?
Well, it seems to be what TikTok is all about; Fame. The videos are using what is referred to as ‘trauma porn’. While some people like to watch soothing videos about woodworking online, others are enamored by trauma. These videos feed on people’s need to be shocked and entertained. At a time when content consumption is at its highest, creators are jumping on any train they can to stay relevant.
While it is definitely not the most unnerving content found on TikTok, the problem is that the videos are generating a lot of buzz. This means they are being shared and liked by more people and inevitably get copied by other creators.
While there is no denying that these videos are offensive, especially to those who have lost family in the Holocaust, creators are claiming the content is used to ‘educate’ people about what happened in Auschwitz.
Can you report Holocaust videos?
@tiktok_us did these girls really cosplay a holocaust victim and narrative for a tik tok.. such a callous mockery of the genocide of millions of jews and other marginalized groups, i feel sick #Holocaust #tiktok #holocaustchallenge (more to follow) pic.twitter.com/ZeDeddkRQ8
— Patricia ✡︎ 🏳️🌈 ⚢ (@Mowgli_Lincoln) August 18, 2020
Well, the TikTok Community guidelines clearly state that content uploaded cannot encourage hate speech or violence. However, there is also an exemption for ‘Educational, historical, satirical, artistic’ content. So technically unless the creators are using the platform to spread misinformation or hate, the videos are conforming to the guidelines.
The videos have generated a lot of criticism from the Jewish community for the normalization of the horrific massacre that took place during the World War II genocide. So while you could report them, chances are TikTok may not take these videos down since they do not technically go against their Community guidelines.
What are your thoughts on this new dark TikTok trend? Let us know in the comments below.
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