Published 11:14 IST, August 28th 2020
Auschwitz Museum slams TikTok's 'Holocaust' trend; calls it 'hurtful & offensive'
TikTok finds itself in another controversy after Auschwitz museum called a new trend, where users of app role-play as Holocaust victims, “hurtful and offensive”
Chinese video-sharing app TikTok finds itself in the middle of another controversy after the Auschwitz museum called a new trend, where users of video-sharing app role-play as Holocaust victims, “hurtful and offensive”. According to media reports, the participants of the trend are recording short videos telling their made-up stories of how they survived the Holocaust.
'It is an educational challenge'
The memorial site, located at the former Nazi death camp in Poland, slammed the so-called point-of-view videos. “The ‘victims’ trend on TikTok can be hurtful & offensive. Some videos are dangerously close or already beyond the border of trivialization of history,” the Auschwitz Memorial said in a tweet. Auschwitz Memorial also urged observers, not to “attack” or “shame” the teenagers involved.
While some of the videos were created by TikTok users in order to be part of a trend rather than to commemorate victims, others seem to be a way of expressing personal memory, the statement said. "We have to be very careful in this discussion because the language used — also very often in social media — seems to carry lots of emotions, sometimes very strong," reads the statement. Social media is "part of our everyday lives and communication," the statement continued adding that respect should be given to victims.
TikTok official responds
"Educators should work with young people to present the facts and stories but also teach and discuss how to commemorate in a meaningful and respectful way," it said.
Meanwhile, a TikTok official told The Post Thursday that it has been redirecting searches for the videos, which users were posting with the hashtag #holocaustchallenge. “We do not condone content like this and are redirecting searches for it to our Community Guidelines to further educate users about our policies and the supportive, inclusive community we are working to foster on TikTok,” a spokesman for the company said.
The Holocaust saw the genocide of six million European Jews people and more than a million people were killed at Auschwitz between 1940 and 1945.
(With agency inputs)
Updated 11:14 IST, August 28th 2020