What’s The Big Deal About April 24 On TikTok?

Social media platforms have provided users worldwide with unprecedented access to information. The dark side of that access, as we all know by now, is the amount of mis- and disinformation that’s regularly promulgated on the platforms.

Even worse, social apps allow scammers and other “bad guys” to start rumors that spread like wildfire. Many are relatively harmless, but others may provoke troubling discussions and even violence.

One such hurtful and harmful rumor that’s spread among TikTok users every year since 2021 involves April 24th.

The April 24th Hoax on TikTok

As most readers know, users can create their own hashtags to use in TikTok posts. Six anonymous users reportedly did just that in the spring of 2021, inserting hashtags like “#April24” into uploaded content to promote what they called “National Rape Day.” Similar but more offensive and violent TikTok hashtags were said to follow closely on the heels of “#April24.”

It goes without saying that there’s no such holiday, but the perpetrators allegedly used their posts to call for others to commit sexual assaults on that day to “celebrate.”

There’s no proof that the hoax led to any overt assaults, but it did apparently lead to what many users called a dramatic and troubling increase in harassment and graphic, troubling content on the app.

(TikTok claims it has no evidence of this having occurred, but numerous people insist that they saw the hashtags and videos on the platform.)

Each April 24th since then, there have been reports of the hashtag and noxious content reappearing on the app, although they’re now joined by other hashtags like #stopsexualviolence, as well as videos warning about the hoax, promoting respectful behavior, and highlighting the importance of consent.

So, was “National Rape Day” the hoax, or were the reports of April 24th hashtags and offensive posts the real hoax? It’s impossible to be sure, but the story underscores the potential danger that can be just a few posts away on social media.