TikTok warnings for April 24 threats are unfounded

TikTok warnings for April 24 threats are unfounded

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The demand: A group of men on TikTok plan to commit sexual assault on April 24 for ‘National Rape Day’

As communities observe Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, a disturbing trend is going viral on TikTok – ‘National Rape Day’ warnings.

The prevailing story is that a group of six men recently created a TikTok video in which they encouraged others to commit sexual assaults on April 24th.

Millions of social media users have seen or shared responses to the alleged threat on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. However, neither USA TODAY nor TikTok has been able to find any evidence of the threat users are responding to.

“If anyone has plans on April 24, DON’T GO OUT !!!! there are men who Stay INSIDE a national rape day !!!! ”Reads an image shared on Facebook.

Another image that is widely shared claims that the threat comes from ‘six men on TikTok’ who ‘claim that it’s legal on 24 April 2021 to sexually assault anyone – and they even gave tips to do so. ‘This image is a screenshot of an April 17 article from the online publication Distractify.

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This has not stopped social media users from promoting their fears among their followers. The bulk of the discussion took place on TikTok, where # april24 was viewed more than 31.1 million times and had more than a thousand videos at the time of its publication. The vast majority of these videos contain security warnings and condemnations of the day.

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Some posts advised women to stay home, travel in groups and carry weapons, while others threatened cover-ups for those who might commit assaults.

One viral video compares the day to the movie “The Purge”.

Several law enforcement officers took part in the trend by posting videos threatening potential attackers with arrests.

According to CrowdTangle, there were more than 1,000 Facebook posts and nearly 50 Instagram posts about ‘National Rape Day’ in the week before this fact check was published.

USA TODAY reaches several reports about the alleged threat.

No evidence of the original threat

TikTok confirmed in a statement to USA TODAY that it did not find the alleged original video on its platform.

“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,” a TikTok spokesman wrote in an email. ‘Although we have no evidence on our platform of any videos related to this topic, our security team remains vigilant and we will remove content that violates our policies. ‘

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USA TODAY analyzed more than 100 videos under TikTok’s # april24 and found no recording of the alleged original, threatening video. Some creators claim to have seen the video but did not share a link, stick it or set it to music.

USA TODAY reached out to several creators who posted about the original video. No one responded to the request for comment.

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Several news outlets, including Distractify, Newsweek and Tech Times, reported on the online trend, referring to the ‘six men’ who posed the initial threat. The articles provide no evidence that the journalists watched the video.

Our rating: false

We review the allegation that a group of men on TikTok intend to sexually assault women and children on April 24 for the sake of “National Rape Day” FALSE, because it is not supported by our research. Despite countless social media posts responding to the alleged threat, USA TODAY or TikTok found no evidence that the video alleged the original threat.

Our sources for fact checking:

  • RAINN, on April 19 ‘month for awareness and prevention of sexual assault’ visit
  • Distractify, April 17, “What’s Happening on April 24 on TikTok? Explaining the Disturbing Trend”
  • TikTok, accessed 19 April # April24
  • la.tania.ftn2, April 17, TikTok-video
  • gorgeous_allday, April 18, TikTok video
  • itzjtyler, April 17, TikTok video
  • skillerswag, April 18, TikTok video
  • anthony_2890, April 18, TikTok video
  • officer alphabet, April 18, TikTok video
  • USA TODAY, April 19, email with a TikTok spokesperson
  • Newsweek, April 18, “The disturbing TikTok trend of April 24 – and how to report videos”
  • Tech Times, April 18, “April 24 TikTok Trend: What It Is, How It Began, and How to Report It”

If you are a survivor of sexual assault, RAINN provides support through the National Hotline for Sexual Assault (800.656.HOPE & online.rainn.org).

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Our fact-checking work is supported in part by a Facebook grant.

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