Here’s How TikTok is Turning Ordinary People Into Villains

Over the recent years, social media has evolved into not only the new judge of character but the entire court of law itself, which has a lot to do with how these online platforms are designed.

Recently, TikTok has easily become an everyday platform for people to visit, with more than a billion monthly users, to create, collaborate and connect with. From sharing cooking and DIY videos to personal stories, people share almost all sorts of content through the platform. And while getting attention through other social platforms is somewhat difficult, going viral on TikTok is comparatively easier. Due to the platform’s unique recommendation algorithm, anyone can go viral regardless of how many followers they have.

While platforms like these can help provide the kind of fellowship we get to see in face-to-face groups, it’s not all positive. Harmful conspiracies and witch hunts have now become mainstream prevalent on TikTok. Some examples include the case of a trans woman, who was wrongfully accused by viewers of being a serial killer after she posted a video of herself on the app, dancing in her basement to Shania Twain.

However, coming to a more recent example of the unintended consequences of virality on TikTok is ‘West Elm Caleb’, a New Yorker who was accused of mistreating a number of women after meeting them via a dating app. The videos about the guy went viral on the app, getting the interest and anger of many beyond the women he had dated. He was eventually doxxed and ended up losing his job.

A researcher Casey Fiesler, who researches technology ethics and online communities, said that the reaction seen in response to stories like these has to do more with the masses forming parasocial relationships with content creators they follow and the subjects of the videos they watch, while also engaging with the content like it’s fiction, without considering the real-life consequences of resharing or chiming.