New TikTok challenge under fire for \u201cmocking\u201d people with disabilities TikTokA new TikTok challenge, dubbed the \u2018Autism Challenge,\u2019 has been widely criticized by creators on the platform for openly \u201cmocking\u201d people with disabilities, and the site has now begun taking action against content associated with the trend. The \u2018Autism Challenge\u2019 on TikTok involved users dancing to a parody song of Black Eyed Peas hit \u201cLet\u2019s Get It Started,\u201d making hand gestures that \u201cmocked\u201d people with disabilities. The trend got shut down as quickly as it rose. As the hashtag started going viral, creators were quick to criticize users who jumped on the bandwagon. YouTube star Philip DeFranco was one of many to lead a public outcry against the trend. \u201cMany of these videos have received massive backlash, prompting many to delete them,\u201d said DeFranco in a May 14 video. \u201cHowever, it\u2019s unclear with all of them as to whether the posts were removed by Tiktok or by the creators themselves.\u201d All references to the challenge \u2014 except the audio used \u2014 have \u201cdisappeared\u201d from the platform, according to DeFranco. For mobile readers, the related segment begins at 4:56. Instead of letting the song disappear though, other creators have weaponized it to hit back at people who took part in the challenge. Searching for the track on Tiktok brings up a host of videos condemning users for \u201cmocking\u201d people with disabilities. \u201cIt\u2019s been flooded by people slamming the trend. A number of posts are people pretending that they\u2019re about to do the dance, then lecturing people about how disgusting it is,\u201d added DeFranco. Read more: KSI accuses Jake Paul of being \u201cracist\u201d – Support groups for people with disabilities have condemned creators as well, including American charity Autism Speaks and blogger Kate Swenson. \u201cWe are shocked and disturbed by the recent TikTok challenge that encourages mean-spirited, discriminatory and cruel behavior toward people with special needs, including autism,\u201d said the charity on Twitter. We are shocked and disturbed by the recent @tiktok_us challenge that encourages mean-spirited, discriminatory and cruel behavior toward people with special needs, including autism. \u2014 autism speaks (@autismspeaks) May 13, 2020 TikTok\u2019s terms of service state that users on the platform cannot \u201cintimidate or harass another, or promote\u2026violence or discrimination based on\u2026disability.\u201d TikTok are yet to issue a statement on the challenge. Although it\u2019s mostly deleted from the platform, creators who took part in it are still active on the platform.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New TikTok challenge under fire for \u201cmocking\u201d people with disabilities TikTokA new TikTok challenge, dubbed the \u2018Autism Challenge,\u2019 has been widely criticized by creators on the platform for openly \u201cmocking\u201d people with disabilities, and the site has now begun taking action against content associated with the trend. The \u2018Autism Challenge\u2019 on TikTok involved users dancing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56305"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56305\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}