The Popularity and Injustice Facing Black TikTok Influencers

How popular social media reflects and perpetuates racism.

by DESJAH ALTVATER ★ JUNE 16, 2020

As the world continues to be on edge as a result of COVID-19, economic instability, and social injustice, global citizens are finding solace in the widely popular app, TikTok. The platform that was already dominating the Gen Z demographic has risen in popularity while stay-at-home orders have been in effect. While TikTok’s popularity has spiked, so has allegations of racial bias towards Black creators. Not only have Black creators continuously been discredited for popular trends that they themselves have created, but they have also expressed outrage over censorship when advocating for #BlackLivesMatter while racist videos have successfully circulated the platform unscathed.

Let’s take a closer look: 

Silencing Black creators:

Credit: Centennial Beauty

Many Black creators are silenced on TikTok as their videos speaking out against racism have been taken down. An uprise of activism arrived on the app following the murder of George Floyd, yet Black creators noticed that #GeorgeFloyd and #BlackLivesMatter were difficult to find, or were falsely said to have not gotten views. According to NPR, TikTok apologized and blamed the problem on a "technical glitch." However, it is no secret why Black creators would be skeptical of this statement, and hence created the 2020 TikTok Blackout. On May 19, Black creators and allies participated in a day-long peaceful protest—made visible by Power Fist profile pictures across the platform—against the way that Black creators are unfairly shadow banned and silenced. TikTok users have also complained that the For You page, which provides a stream of videos based on the user's activity, rarely includes creators of color. According to Forbes, discrimination may be perpetuated in the algorithm that TikTok uses to push its most successful content towards viewers, which could be giving white users a leg up. Though most of the platform’s biggest stars are white, many of them gain their content from non-white creators. 

The “Renegade” dance:

Credit: Forbes

TikTok has become synonymous with dance culture, and many of the app’s most popular dances have come from Black creators. And, unfortunately, proper credit is rarely given. For example, the Renegade was created and posted on Instagram by Jalaiah Harmon, yet rose to fame after fellow TikTok user Charli D’Amelio posted a video of herself performing the dance. For a while, the world credited D’Amelio for creating the choreography, but Harmon eventually created a TikTok account just to set the record straight.

While credit is extremely important, the opportunities and attention that are attached to such influence are invaluable. According to NYTimes, Harmon expressed, “I think I could have gotten money for it, promos for it, I could have gotten famous off it, get noticed. I don’t think any of that stuff has happened for me because no one knows I made the dance.”

According to Buzzfeed News, Iman Tura, a Black creator on TikTok, expressed that she experienced racism on the platform daily and even partook in the online demonstration this past May. Tura was quoted saying, “The biggest challenge as a creator of color is firstly people's blatant racism and secondly the fact that we can’t even speak out about injustice without being taken down. TikTok does nothing for Black creators that are attacked daily because of the color of their skin but protects the racist content even when reported.”

The article further writes that TikTok’s general managers, Vanessa Pappas and Kudzi Chikumbu, released the following statement,“Recently, our users have voiced tough but fair questions about whether all creators have an equal opportunity for their content to be seen and their experiences affirmed on TikTok. We acknowledge and apologize to our Black creators and community who have felt unsafe, unsupported, or suppressed.”

In response to the #BlackLivesMatter movement, white TikTok creator Jacob Sartorius posted a series of powerful images from protests and proof of a $5,000 donation to the Minnesota Freedom Fund to his Instagram account. His allyship was accompanied with the caption, “The way Black people are treated in America is absolutely horrific. The fact that our country doesn’t see all of us as equal human beings makes me sick. Today I am standing up for what I believe in. Today I am standing with our Black brothers and sisters in a fight for EQUALITY and I’m asking you to do the same. We are the change! We are the future! Silence is deadly!”

Just within recent months, TikTok has emerged as the most-downloaded app in the world, beating Instagram and Facebook. With great success comes great responsibility and an app that is representing an entire generation needs to provide a safe space not only for its audience, but for the creators that secretly rule the feed.

Cover photo credit: Paper Magazine