TikTokTrends Week: 9
Week of September 14
It's been one hell of a week. Today we’ll be talking about #RIPRBG, #CaliFire, #Biden, #NoMask, and of course the imminent danger of the TikTokBan.
Let’s dive in!
#RIPRBG
On Friday evening notifications of Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s passing came to millions of phones around the world. The news came as a shock to many. Ginsberg had been fighting pancreatic cancer since 1999 and died at the age of 87.
Following her death, the online conversation changed in an instance. Social media platforms were flooded with an outpour of emotion, with Americans mourning her death as well as fearing what comes next for the Supreme Court. Fourteen of the top 15 trends on Twitter was about Ginsberg’s passing, and “No. No. No.” became one of the top trends of the day, reacting to the new Supreme Court Justice spot to be potentially filled by Donald Trump. On TikTok, #RIPRBG got 30 million views in a day.
The video above was posted by Yahoo News. It’s the first time I've seen a news organization post a newsworthy TikTok that has become trending. The video shows Trump reacting to Ginsberg’s death. Trump, who seemingly learned of the news from reporters while addressing them after the Minnesota rally before getting on to Air Force One, gave a measured response. He praised Ginsberg for the work she had done in the Supreme Court. “She was an amazing woman, whether you agree with her or not,” Trump said. “I am actually saddened to hear that,” he added about her death.
The song Tiny Dancer by Elton John can be heard in the background of the video, which was not added by Yahoo News but was playing at the rally.
With 54,000 comments on the video, it was interesting to see how users reacted. Most of the conversation revolved around how respectful Trump was, and how as a user put it: “This is the first time I am not mad at him.” There were of course other comments praising and condemning Trump but the majority of them responded well to the way he reacted to the news, without making it political at that moment.
However, the next day, at a rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Trump spoke about Ginsberg, again praising her work, calling her a “Legal Giant,” eliciting unenthusiastic cheers from the crowd. Trump continued by saying that “Article 2 of our constitution says the president shall nominate justices of the supreme court” to which his supporters chanted “fill that seat!”
The press release by Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell posted immediately after Ginsberg’s death, explaining that a hearing to confirm a new Supreme Court justice would be held, has triggered a lot of backlash.
Trump's respectful comments on Ginsberg’s death did not last very long. Even before the North Carolina rally, Trump talked to the press about his list of 45 candidates to fill Ginsberg’s seat on the Supreme Court, saying that he would be making a choice on who to pick next week.
#CaliFire
Fires in California have been raging since August 15, burning 3.5 million acres, killing at least 35 people, destroying over 5,800 structures, and leaving tens of thousands homeless. There have been a huge number of posts about the fires, but this week a video posted by a fireman, fact-checking another user’s video went viral:
The video was filmed by Michael Clark, aka ‘wildlandmike,’ a firefighter from Oahu, Hawaii. In it, he debunks a video from Cierra Mistt, who posted conspiracy theories about the California fires, asking if the fires were intentional. The video was watched 1.5 million times and has since been reposted on numerous news outlets. Mistt has been involved in many controversies online, such as animal cruelty and lying to her followers. She is known for deleting many of her TikTok videos, however, her content is not mainly focused on conspiracy theories.
Clark goes into the conspiracies put forward by Mistt one by one, unraveling each of them. Mistt asks why the map showing the fires in the U.S. suddenly cuts on the Canadian border. Clark replies because the map uses US data. Mistt then talks about a biohazard sign that she claims can be seen in a video that shows half-burned trees 40 miles from the Grand Canyon National Park. Clark explains that he had previously worked there and that the sign does not exist, adding that the image looks edited. Clark uses the Duet feature on TikTok where the app allows the creator to react to a video by another creator, by simultaneously showing both clips.
Michael has since made a second video, debunking the same creator with yet another post about her conspiracy theories. Insider has reported reaching out to Mistt, asking about the debunked videos, where she explained that they were taken down by TikTok for a Community Guideline violation.
#Biden
The hashtag Biden was trending this week because of a doctored clip of Biden playing a song by N.W.A.’s called “F—- Tha Police” during a speech that was retweeted by Trump.
However, Biden did play music for his viewers during his campaign trip to Florida.
The original video above shows Biden during a campaign trip to Florida for the Hispanic Heritage Month event on September 15, playing the song Despacito from his phone before starting the speech. Biden was invited on stage at the event by the artist Fonsi, who made the song. It has been viewed over 2 million times on TikTok and shared by various other creators. Biden was ridiculed on social media for using a song to gain Latino voters.
Trump supporters were seen pointing out that Trump would be named a racist if he had done the same at one of his rallies, while Biden supporters commented saying “he tried” and, “at least he is thinking about us.”
#NoMask
Mask wearing has unfortunately been a controversial topic since day one. Many think that wearing masks restrict their freedom, while others are concerned about the health of the public. Last week the CDC director, Robert Redfield said, “I might even go so far as to say that this face mask is more guaranteed to protect me against Covid-19 than when I take a Covid-19 vaccine.” Trump, at a press briefing, said that he had talked to the director, and said that Redfield might have misunderstood the question.
The video above, showing a group of Trump supporters walking down a Target store in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, yelling “Take your masks off” was watched over 2 million times on TikTok. It also triggered more than 800 reaction videos. Onlookers were seen videotaping the incident, shocked by what they were witnessing.
The group was using an AC/DC song with the lyrics “We are not going to take it anymore.” The protesters were first seen in the parking lot of the Target, before making their way inside and taking off their masks.
The video has gained over 37 million views on Twitter and has also been covered by numerous news outlets.
The TikTokBan
By now all of you probably know about the drama surrounding TikTok’s sale. In short: Since July, there has been an on-going battle to ban TikTok in the U.S. TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, has been trying to reach an agreement with a U.S. based company in order to sell the app in accordance with the wishes of President Trump. Microsoft, Oracle, Walmart, and reportedly even Twitter and Netflix, have been trying to make a deal with the company. But Oracle and Walmart ended up as the winners, with Trump’s blessing.
On Friday the 18th, before the deal news broke, the Trump administration announced that they will ban TikTok and WeChat from being downloaded after Sunday the 20th. Users would still have been able to use the apps but not download or receive updates on them. The proposed ban boosted TikTok downloads by %12, and WeChat by %150, in the U.S.
On Saturday TikTok released a statement expressing that they have received a proposal that “resolves the administrations security issues.” The statement goes on to explain that Oracle will be providing cloud services for the app and both Oracle and Walmart will be taking part in “a TikTok Global pre-IPO financing round in which they can take up to a %20 cumulative stake in the company.” The software as a service company and the retail giant will be forming a new entity called TikTok Global, according to reports.
The same day, Trump announced that he had approved the deal made by Oracle and Walmart ‘in concept,’ effectively delaying the download ban of TikTok that was going to go in effect on Sunday, September 20 until the 27th. And while he left the ban on WeChat in place, a California judge blocked the ban on Sunday morning, allowing users to continue downloading the app. The judge stated that there is insufficient evidence of the app posing a national security threat and argued it would violate the free-speech of millions of Chinese-Americans who rely on the app for communication.
The ban is more of a political move for Trump, who in the past has targeted many Chinese companies over national security threats, forcing them to unwind their American acquisitions. Forcing TikTok to sell to an American counterpart, is just a way for Trump to claim to his supporters that he beat China.
Since the deal is yet to be finalized, it may not entirely be in the clear when it comes to the ban. But if the ban does take place, there will be a list of apps waiting to jump on all the TikTokers that will become free agents.
In Other News
YouTube Shorts, the new TikTok? YouTube is one of the apps ready to snap up some of TikTok’s influencers. Since TikTokers have become celebrities, many of them are now on YouTube, creating vlogs and videos about their lives as well as making content with their celebrity friends. YouTube Shorts is what the company is calling their new format. With a 15 second time limit and infinite scrolling, it seems very similar to TikTok. Though TikTok is more refined and has a better user experience, both provide similar features and similar creative tools.
Triller, another rival to TikTok, is ready to go! They got one of the biggest TikTokers, Charlie D’Amelio on their platform. D’Amelio has 87 million followers on TikTok and will be joined by her sister, mother, and father, all of whom are TikTokers. In addition to the D’Amelio family, The Trumps are also on the app. Donald Trump has even posted a video, announcing that he is on Triller. The video has over 53 million plays on the app. Interestingly, the community guidelines have a very vague explanation of misinformation curbs. They state “misleading metadata” may lead to the removal of the video, but nothing about what makes the content misleading is mentioned in the rather short guidelines of the app. TikTok, on the other hand, has a section called “Misleading Information” that points out the types of misinformation the app will not allow.
That is all I have for this week! Please share this newsletter if you enjoy reading it! Also please don’t be shy to send me an email about what you think I should cover, or if I have missed anything. - Here is my Twitter!
Thank you for reading, hope to see you next week!
A huge thank you to Nikitha Sattiraju for helping me edit this Newsletter!