TikTok Blackout Protest is a new trend that’s hitting TikTok right now and it would actually be better to not use the word “trend” but use “protest” to explain what’s going on here. This movement was founded by Lex Scott- a Utah resident and lots of people have come together to make this successful.
To know more about this cool virtual protest and somewhat of a movement, be sure to hang around until the end of my article…
What is a Blackout Protest?
This protest is a reaction against black content creators being censored on TikTok and other social media platforms. the proponents of the movement are calling for more nuanced understanding when it comes to contents that are about racial humor, racial commentary, and such matters.
There have been people commenting that TikTok has censored contents of black creators saying those were bullying and had physical or mental stress.
According to the report by Guardian, TikTok has censored some contents on the platform in an attempt to stop bullying and extremities.
CNN TikTok Blackout And Roe of Mainstream Media
CNN is being mentioned a lot here because CNN is one of the most powerful media platforms existing today. They have talked to TikTok and tried to make some sense of the problem.
Through some conversations between the activists and TikTok, the situation seems to be much complex than it sounds on the surface.
Creators are saying that TikTok censored and banned their videos on the basis of race and when they were making content around racial inequalities.
However, TikTok has said that they were only trying to maintain their standard and censor any kind of videos that might be bullying and inappropriate.
How To Support This Movement?
if you want to support this movement, here are a few things you could do. Many nonblack creators are also expressing their solidarity with this movement.
First of all, they have changed their profile picture to a black and white fist. Next, they have decided to like and watch more and more videos of black creators so that their account is highlighted.
The movement has really caught up fast because by Tuesday morning there have been 6 million views on videos with the hashtag “blackvoicesheard”.
Here is a ten-minute compilation of some of the contents being created on TikTok as part of this movement.
Most people are very supportive of this movement and some have even said that this is nothing short of historic because TikTok is becoming a place for virtual protest and support instead of toxic contents and just trashy stuff.
However, there are some naysayers who oppose certain things related to this movement. Some of the people have raised voices such as not liking only black creator’s videos in itself is racism.
But more conversations need to happen and more nuanced debate needs to be conducted so that this does not become a hot thing for a couple of days and disappears but TikTok becomes friendly space for all races, sexuality, and ethnicity.
CJ Edwards said that he was really overwhelmed by the response of the public in supporting this movement. This virtual protest has caused more good than bad definitely. To be honest, I can’t see any bad thing about it.
This movement gained traction fast because Malcolm X’s birth anniversary was May 19- yesterday. On the occasion of the birth anniversary of an American civil rights activist, a protest to make TikTok not censor videos of black creators and suppress their voices is admirable.
So, that’s it for me right now. We will have to see how this protest develops in the coming days.