Rage over the TikTok ban has Americans calling for a "revolution"
PLUS: Lola Young and the influencer accused of psychological terror. Do keep up!
Today’s post is an overdue look at what’s been catching fire as last week I dedicated the whole edition to 2024’s most controversial main character, Luigi Mangione. Before I get you up to speed let’s quickly run through this week’s biggest story - the increasing fury and frustration in the U.S. about the possible demise of TikTok.
TikTok users: “The government hate us”
American TikTokers have reached the anger part of the five stages of grief over the app’s likely ban, and the platform has been flooded with rage-filled videos with one of the most popular calling for a “revolution” and another creating a expletive-filled diss track directed at the government.
The clock app’s fans and creators are incensed after a federal appeals court denied TikTok’s efforts to delay a law that will ban it over security concerns unless it divests from its Chinese parent company ByteDance. While there are still options that could save the platform from being closed next month, many experts are skeptical about TikTok’s chances.
The grim outlook has been met with anger from those that have built community, audiences and businesses on TikTok. It’s also prompted a slew of theories over who or what is to blame. Here’s a quick run through of the main points made in the videos and the extremely lively comments sections…
Some TikTokers are calling on Americans to protest the ban by:
Starting “a revolution” with some flagging the similarities between current day America and the pre French Revolution era
Some fans believe the ban is an attempt to:
Strip them of a platform that has allowed them to organise
Counter the class consciousness the app has given voice to
And they blame:
Tech bosses like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk who they believe helped to achieve the ban
The government who they believe feels “hate” toward them
Others are posting hot takes on what they think will happen next, including:
The rejection of all other social media, especially Meta-owned apps Facebook and Instagram
Huge creators disappearing from online media all together
The scattering of TikTokers across multiple platforms similar to what happened when users left Twitter and Tumblr
The creation of an app that’s tailored to creators with “ghost metrics”
In remarks on Monday incoming president Donald Trump claimed that he would “take a look at TikTok”. But his second term won't begin until he is inaugurated on January 20 which is one day after the divest or ban deadline.
It’s unclear how much Trump’s administration understands the anger amongst the app’s fans, the majority of whom are young people. Misjudging that could lead to a significant backlash early on in his presidency.
Trump has said he is against banning TikTok, despite supporting a ban during his first term. He’s since grown close to the billionaire Jeff Yass who has a seven per cent stake in TikTok’s parent company. Yass was a huge donor to Trump’s campaign and in total gave over $96 million to Republican causes in the last election.
TikTok are relying on two options to save their skin. Firstly they hope that the Supreme Court will grant an injunction to temporarily block the law so that TikTok can appeal. They asked the justices to respond by January 6. The second is that Trump and app stores refuse to enforce the ban. Even if Trump gives the green light it’s unclear whether Apple and Google will want the legal risks that come with non-compliance of the law.
If there’s no Hail Mary then TikTok will be banned in the U.S. on January 19. Current users will still be able to engage with the app on their devices but app updates would not be possible and new users would not be able to download it.
Going viral
Charly Anne’s New York trip… The Welsh TikToker and her gaggle of mates are captivating Americans by eating their way around the Big Apple.
The “main event” of their trip was to visit the fried chicken chain Raising Canes, and their enthusiasm for the American staple (and the massive cup of house sauce) has thrilled and appalled locals in equal measure.
Charley Anne and her friends - Cory, Emily, Lea Charlotte and Ieuan - are posting multiple videos a day of their experiences and the cumulative effect has took over many For You pages on TikTok and gained them fans like Darina Lyons and Gracie Wiener who also caught fire because of how obsessed she is with the friendship group and their take on NYC.
It helps that Charly Anne and the gang have their own language and are charming viewers with their frequent cries of “what the frig frog” and branding anything tasty, “hev” (short for heaven). They need their own reality show.
Matilda Djerf… but for all the wrong reasons. The fashion influencer and owner of the popular Gen Z clothing brand Djerf Avenue was accused of inflicting "psychological terror" by current and ex employees in a report from a Swedish newspaper. Djerf, who recently partnered with hot youth brand Rhode on a lip treatment, issued a grovelling apology to her three million Instagram followers yesterday.
If you want to see Djerf’s unique management style in action then this TikTok is for you.
Lily Phillips (again)… after a documentary about her having sex with 100 men in one day, dropped on YouTube.
The OnlyFans creator is seen sobbing after the viral event in the film, but Phillips, 23, is determined to carry on the rage bait. She’s pledged to have sex with 1,000 men in 17 hours as her next challenge and claims that over 5,000 have applied.
The documentary prompted much moralising on social platforms and in the legacy media, but the commentary so often ignores the fact that while OnlyFans has in many ways empowered sex workers to have independence from the adult entertainment industry, it has also created a perverse incentive to be outrageous on other platforms to get attention, build a profile and drive subscriptions. For sex workers like Phillips, going viral is a business model.
Bonnie Blue, 25, has followed the same path. She had her Australian visa revoked after she revealed her plan to travel there to have sex with 18-year-olds during the end of school holiday known as Schoolies.
I’m not quite sure where this outrage cycle ends, because for as long as we continue to be shocked by sex workers’ MrBeast-style upping of the ante, they will carry on with the controversial challenges. Creating a scandal is, in fact, the whole point.
SIDE NOTE: One of the best pieces I’ve read about the Lily Phillips documentary is from the writer and sex worker Jessie Sage in Rolling Stone who argues that it offers a rare insight into the complex realities of sex work and society’s relationship to it. It’s worth your time.
So hot right now
Lola Young… The 23-year-old British singer who’s riding high in TikTok’s music charts after Gen Z it girl Sofia Richie and Jake Shane featured her track Messy in a Thanksgiving video that’s been watched more than 27 million times.
While there was a tonne of attention - and divided opinion - on Richie’s two-step dance moves, its Young who has emerged as the real winner as the track is now number three on the influential chart after it was used in over 360,000 videos including one by Kylie Jenner.
What’s also gone under reported is that Young is signed to Island Records, which is owned by Universal Music Group. And the CEO of Universal is Richie’s father-in-law. Was it really a coincidence that Richie featured the unknown track in the video?
Kylie Kelce… after she shook up the podcasting boys club by soaring to the number one spot after just two episodes of her new weekly show Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce.
The former college athlete, hockey coach, wife of Jason Kelce and sister-in-law of Travis Kelce, dethroned Joe Rogan’s The Joe Rogan Experience from its long-held place at the top of the most-popular shows charts on both Apple and Spotify in the United States.
The 32-year-old mum-of-three, with a fourth on the way, is serving up conversation about life, parenting and sport on the show as well as interviewing other female content creators. Kylie’s success comes after the Kelce brothers scored big with their own podcast New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce. Their show is currently 50th on Spotify’s U.S. chart and I hope Kylie is not being remotely classy about beating them at their own game.
… who’s fast becoming known as the journalist who will publish what legacy media will not. Last week the Substacker was the first to print in full the manifesto found on Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, when he was arrested.
Back in October Klippenstein also released what became known as the JD Vance Dossier, which was the result of an alleged Iranian government hack of the Trump campaign.
Depending on your perspective Klippenstein is either a hero of anti-paternalistic journalism or he’s amplifying messaging from bad actors. What’s for certain is that there’s a massive appetite for his ‘leaks’. Back in October he had around 60,000 subscribers. Following the Vance and Mangione posts, he now has over 110,000.
SIDE NOTE: The mysterious drones saga in the U.S. proves that in the era of conspiracy thinking what you ignore, you empower. And with hundreds of reports of irregular lights in the sky and increasing public concern, including from state governors, the White House appears to be making the same mistake as the royal family when they mishandled Kate Middleton’s step back from public life.
Speed… after he was named Streamer of the Year at the Streamer Awards following a year of viral moments. The 19-year-old, who’s real name is Darren Watkins Jr, blew up after he held his own in a track race against 100m Olympic champion Noah Lyles, jumped over speeding cars and live streamed his world tour, where he was frequently mobbed by fans.
Speed has over 33 million subscribers on his IShowSpeed YouTube channel but he has a string of controversies in his past too, including being banned from Twitch for “sexual coercion or intimidation” after an ugly and threatening interaction with TikToker Ash Kash.
Mocca Mousse… is Pantone’s colour of the year. Their warm-brown pick feels like a remix of the beige that has dominated the wardrobes of clean girls for over two years. It’s also reflective of what we’ve seen on this year’s runways that itself felt like an update to the never-ending trend of muted-toned quiet luxury. Can we have shocking pink next year please?
Trends, trends and even more trends
Trauma dumps… to a choir version of Madonna’s Like A Prayer accompanied by multiple images of Pepe the King Prawn from The Muppets. Let me explain!
It started with a woman who is now known as Olive Oil Girl after she went viral for telling a wild story that started with her applying an olive oil hair mask when she was in high school. She posted the story in 15 parts by adding text to pictures of Pepe the King Prawn. Her story got crazier with each slide and captivated TikTokers. It’s since been viewed more than 60 million times.
Her eventful and hilarious tale inspired others to share the stories that haunt them and a trend was born. My favourites can be found here and here.
Want more? Olive Oil Girl - whose real name is Megan Chacalos - went on to produce a reenactment video that also went viral.
TikTok’s gender and ideological gap with U.S. teens… has been revealed in new data from Pew Research Center’s Teens, Social Media and Technology 2024 survey. Here are the highlights:
TikTok over indexes with teen girls and those who identify as Democratic
Two thirds (66 per cent) of teen girls (13 to 17 year olds) say they use TikTok, compared with 59 per cent of boys. When it comes to politics, 73 per cent of Democratic teens use the platform, compared with just 52 per cent of Republican teens.
Teens have fled Twitter/X and they’re not using Threads either
Just 17 per cent of teens say they use Twitter/X, down from 23 per cent in 2022. Threads barely registers with young people with just six per cent reporting use of the Meta-owned app.
YouTube and TikTok dominate
Once again YouTube is the most widely used and visited platform with 73 per cent of teens using it daily. Of those, 15 per cent describe their use as “almost constant”. About 60 per cent visit TikTok daily and 16 per cent of those say they use it almost constantly.
Nearly half of teens are “almost constantly” online
For the last three years Pew has found that 46 per cent of 13 to 17 year-olds say that they are almost permanently plugged into the internet, while 96 per cent say they use it every day.
If you want more on the gender chasm in the online lives of young men and women then check out my earlier post here.
This week I’ve been…
OBSESSED WITH:
Sydney Sweeney’s response to the men who said she was fat
The unhinged person behind the Styro Mike Instagram account which is trying to create a whole head of hair by collecting their girlfriend’s hair
WATCHING:
Every clip of Chappell Roan singing Pink Pony Club with her parents on Carpool Karaoke’s holiday special
Black Doves. But I’m not sure I’d recommend it because increasingly Netflix is catfishing its audience. They pull viewers in with thrilling, brilliantly written first episodes, then you get to the final two episodes which hastily and clumsily try to tie up all the loose ends. It's a scam! The spy thriller’s one saving grace is that Keira Knightley looks refreshingly real. Vogue dropped a fabulous take on this headlined The Best Thing About Black Doves Has Nothing To Do With The Plot
READING: Steven Bartlett sharing harmful health misinformation in Diary of a CEO podcast from the BBC
LISTENING TO: Luther by Kendrick Lamar and SZA
highly flammable is produced and written by me, Rachel Richardson
I’m a content creator, commentator and consultant at Beginning, Middle and End
Want more? Check out Threads, Twitter/X and Instagram. I’m also dabbling in some Bluesky thinking.
Email rr@bmend.com
I'll click on anything you post! Although I am feeling a bit emotional after watching that Lily Phillips doc!