Netizens Are Outraged With TikTok’s “George Floyd Challenge”

• A sick new TikTok trend called the “George Floyd Challenge” has gained a lot of negative attention online.
• The said challenge shows youngsters, who are mostly white males, recreating the death of George Floyd who died because of police brutality.

A new trend on social media has recently sparked outrage among netizens. As can be seen on the photos below, the said online trend shows youngsters replicating the death of 46-year-old George Floyd, who died after being pinned down on the ground by Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin.

Mostly done by young males, the “George Floyd Challenge” went viral on TikTok and many have since condemned it. Some even described the trend as “appalling,” “disgusting,” “insensitive,” and “very inappropriate.”

Case in point, two students from St Joseph’s College Gregory Terrace in Brisbane, Australia did the challenge and uploaded it online. A school representative confirmed this with Yahoo News and said that the institution shares “in the community disappointment” and ensured they are “treating the matter seriously and dealing with it as an absolute priority.”

Meanwhile, England’s Northumbria Police has revealed that they are currently conducting investigations after arresting two males, ages 18 and 19, who likewise participated in the bizarre challenge and posted their photo online. The teens have since been released on bail, according to Heavy.

“We understand that this social media post has caused significant upset and we want to reassure the public it is being investigated robustly and is being treated as a hate crime,” the authorities said.

Evenually, a spokesperson of TikTok said:

“We value and celebrate inclusivity and are focused on promoting an environment free from hateful speech or harassment.”

The popular social media app also added that posts which “praises violent tragedies or disparages their victims” will be removed from their platform because they are direct violations of existing guidelines.