TikTok seeks to stop the spread of the recent ‘Suicide Video’

TikTok is seeking to delete the app’s viral gruesome videos that depict a man shooting himself with a pistol and banning accounts from people re-uploading the film. 

Since Sunday night, gruesome imagery of a man murdering himself has appeared on the video sharing website, often concealed inside more innocent images to deceive people into watching it. Many developers post TikToks to alert them about the worrying clip though TikTok claims it is trying to avoid it from spreading. 

TikTok has sought to avoid the distribution of the video by blocking the accounts of people seeking to re-upload it several times. 

“Our systems identified and flagged these clips automatically for breaching our rules against content that shows, celebrates, glorifies or encourages suicide, “a company spokesperson said. We ban accounts that repeatedly attempt to upload photos, and we thank our community members who have recorded content and cautioned others against viewing, participating, or posting such videos on any platform out of respect for the user and their families”. 

“If someone in our group is dealing with suicidal thoughts or fears about someone who is, we urge them to seek help, and we have access to hotlines directly from our app and our security centre.” 

The video was first live streaming last month on Facebook, and has since been posted to other social media sites including Twitter and Instagram. Search words synonymous with TikTok, suicide, or something related to the incident could currently yield related material, including reposts, photos , and videos with the graphic footage cut in.