Hashtag April 24 is trending on TikTok for all the wrong reasons. While the trend’s original source is unknown, the trend is disturbing. Read to know more about it.
What is the April 24 TikTok trend all about?
The disturbing April 24 TikTok trend first became viral in 2021 and resulted in designating the day as “National Rape Day”. The month of April is designated as ‘Sexual Assault Awareness Month’. A video allegedly surfaced on TikTok with a group of men urging others to sexual assault on the day, claiming it to be lawful. However, the video app stated that it has not found the alleged video on the platform. While the original video’s existence is currently a mystery, the #April24 has over 38 million views.
In reaction to the disturbing trend, several TikToks and reaction videos are turning up as a reply. Several people are creating videos offering safety advice, tips to exercise caution, or even staying at home on the day. Additionally, videos warning people not to commit sexual assault are also on the rise. “Keeping our community safe is our priority, and we do not tolerate content that promotes or glorifies non-consensual sexual acts including rape and sexual assault,” revealed a TikTok spokesperson in a statement to USA Today. “While we have not found evidence on our platform of any videos related to this subject, our safety team is remaining vigilant and we will remove content that violates our policies,” they added.
More on the trend:
We examined over 100 TikToks with the #April24 hashtag. However, the original menacing video was not found. Some creators asserted to have watched the original video. However, they did not link their posts to it, making it doubtful about its existence. They ranked the allegation about a group of makes on the platform preparing to assault women in commemoration on April 24 as untrue. Additionally, law enforcement personnel joined the trend and started making reaction videos. The trend is garnering attention and the police allegedly warned potential attackers of arresting them.
