TikTok

Arts

'Garbage trends' clog the internet — and they may be here to stay

8:34am January 19, 2022

by Neda Ulaby

Sea shanties, the word "cheugy," feta pasta and "RushTok" were all fleeting internet obsessions over the past year. But what do such "garbage trends" say about our cultural condition?

Queue Listen Now

Top global TikToks of 2021: Defiant Afghan singer, Kenya comic, walnut-cracking elbow

7:13am January 08, 2022

What did the world watch on TikTok last year? We round up some favorite videos — including a mukbang ASMR Thai star (don't worry, we explain it) and a potato chip-crunching Kenyan comedian.

Jennifer Stout , left, vice president of global public policy at Snapchat parent Snap Inc., and Michael Beckerman, vice president and head of public policy at TikTok, testify before a Senate panel on Tuesday.

Politics & Government

4 takeaways from the Senate child safety hearing with YouTube, Snapchat and TikTok

6:40pm October 26, 2021

by Bobby Allyn

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who chaired the hearing, said being distinct from Facebook isn't enough to cut it for the three tech giants. "That bar is in the gutter," he told the company officials.

Left: OnlyFans is hosting some of Vienna's nude artwork. Right: A painting is seen on the stairway of the famous Albertina art museum.

Arts

Vienna museums' social media posts got rejected for nudity, so they're on OnlyFans

3:45pm October 20, 2021

The Vienna Tourist Board is taking posts of nude and partially nude artwork found in the city's museums to a subscription service after content was removed from other social media sites.

Megan Alexandra Blankenbiller became sick before she was able to get the COVID-19 vaccine. She spent her final days in the hospital trying to help others avoid the same mistake.

Health & Safety

Before Dying, An Unvaccinated TikTok User Begged Others Not to Repeat Her Mistake

3:54pm September 09, 2021

by Sharon Pruitt-Young

Megan Alexandra Blankenbiller got sick before she was able to get the COVID-19 vaccine, and she spent her time in the hospital trying to help others to get the shot.

Activists have taken to TikTok and other platforms to fight a restrictive new abortion law in Texas.

National

TikTok Activists Are Flooding A Texas Abortion Reporting Site With Spam

4:44pm September 03, 2021

by Sharon Pruitt-Young

A new law in Texas makes it illegal to have an abortion after six weeks, as well as to help anyone have an abortion. Activists are spamming a website set up to report people for violating the law.

Country artist George Birge heard Erynn Chambers' TikTok satirizing the stereotypical country songs written by men versus women and turned it into a radio hit.

How A Joke TikTok About Country Music Stereotypes Hit The Radio

5:07am August 19, 2021

Country artist George Birge saw a popular TikTok skewering the way men in his genre write music and decided to issue himself a songwriting challenge. The result? "Beer Beer, Truck Truck."

A parents group wants TikTok to let parents see all the videos their kids access.

National

Parents Are Asking TikTok For Access To The Videos Their Kids Are Watching

9:49pm July 29, 2021

by Dalia Faheid

More than 12,000 parents have signed a petition asking TikTok CEO Vanessa Pappas to introduce "mirror" accounts so parents can track how their kids are influenced on the platform.

From left, screenshots from Olympians Laviai Nielsen, Ilona Maher and Raven Saunders' recent TikTok posts from the Tokyo Olympics.

Olympians Are Dominating TikTok. Here's How To Follow Along

1:16pm July 28, 2021

by Emily Alfin Johnson

TikTok is owning the 2020 Olympics as athletes share highlights and behind the scenes updates from Tokyo with each other and followers at home.

The European Commission is asking Facebook, Twitter, Google and others to share more details about what their platforms are doing to curb disinformation.

Europe Wants Social Media Giants To Do More To Stop Disinformation

9:16am May 26, 2021

by Jaclyn Diaz

The executive branch of the European Union is asking Facebook, Google, Twitter and others to provide details on how they are responding to disinformation on their platforms.