In mid-2021, videos of people using a debunked COVID cure, the horse dewormer drug ivermectin, were constantly spreading across the platform. At the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, fake TikTok content was a constant problem, with videos of old conflicts and pro-Putin propaganda being circulated. The platform was recently named as being instrumental in the spread of misinformation in the run-up to last month’s presidential election in the Philippines, with Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., the son of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, securing a landslide victory after a successful campaign that essentially rewrote history and glamourized the Marcos name on TikTok. Under the hashtag lies a plethora of video examples of hacks and advice that, for some, have been transformative, whether that’s learning sign language, or how to deep-clean a bathroom, or why you cough when a drink goes down the wrong hole.īut there are limits to the platform - as we saw recently with constant videos and viral audios questioning Amber Heard’s testimony from her trial against Johnny Depp. Today, #tiktoktaughtme has 6.6 billion views. Just like the advent of YouTube, the school of TikTok has provided a platform for academics, healthcare professionals, lawyers, construction workers, and more to lift the veil on their professions and, in doing so, share a wealth of knowledge that has been previously gatekept or isn’t always easily accessible. Indeed, one of the thousands of likes was my own, as I routinely find myself diving into the “dancing app” in search of things like restaurant recommendations, holiday destinations, and hacks on how to maximize suitcase space before a flight. “The tweet was so simple, but a lot of people also agreed,” Lukyamuzi told BuzzFeed News.

With 5,000 comments, 25,000 retweets, and 100,000 likes, the viral post generated responses ranging from those who declared TikTok the search engine for Gen Z, and others who insisted that people agreeing with that statement showed “society is doomed.”

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