A TikTok “army of frogs” has racked up millions of likes, but the possible fallout from the bizarre hack is no joke, experts say.
In February this year, a young TikTok user who claims to be based in the UK started building a “frog army” after noticing “some kind of eggs in a shallow pond near his house”. In recent videos, he claimed to have collected more than 1.4 million eggs that hatched into tadpoles in a pool he built in his backyard. “He wanted to create the largest frog army in history,” he said in a video. “Next year I will create a giant pond for 10 million frogs.”
Also this spring, another TikTok user claimed to have released 100 million ladybugs in Central Park in New York City. In subsequent posts, he claimed that he had been sued in response and that he had fled the US.
Racking up hundreds of millions of views as commenters egged them on, both users continued to step up their stunts, promising more releases of larger numbers of animals. They have even hinted that they will reunite.
While The Guardian was unable to independently confirm the veracity of both users’ accounts (neither responded to multiple requests for comment and there has been speculation that the videos may be a hoax), the sheer popularity of the videos worries scientists.
The leader of the “army of frogs” now has more than 2 million followers and more than 20 million likes accumulated on his page. The driver of “the raid of sissies” has more than 42 million views on his videos.
“It gives me the creeps,” said Tierra Curry, a conservation biologist at the Center for Biological Diversity.
The relocation of species such as frogs and butterflies can have serious impacts, Curry said. “Instead of helping [These TikTok users] they are actually harming the animals they are releasing and all the animals in the environment they are releasing them into; it is creating a vector for disease and invasive species,” he said.
Scientists say that, if true, the release of frogs is alarming given that human relocation of frogs is one of the main threats to the species. A fungus introduced by humans that redistributed amphibians has caused a “mass extinction” event, wiping out more than 90 species of frogs.
“It’s the law of unintended consequences,” said Chris Nagano, who spent 27 years as an endangered species biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “I have no doubt that this person could have thought it was doing a good thing, but it may actually be driving these populations to extinction.”
Experts worry that the way TikTok operates is exacerbating the problem.
TikTok differs from platforms like Instagram and Twitter in that its feed is largely made up of people a user doesn’t follow, allowing algorithms to pull up content from across the web. Because how their feed works remains relatively unknown, users are more likely to post increasingly “unexpected” content to boost their views, said Ioana Literat, an associate professor in the faculty at Columbia University. .
“Because it’s such a black box, a lot of users just throw things at the wall to see what sticks,” he said. “More than well-established platforms, the spirit of TikTok really amplifies the unusual and the creative.”
When videos go viral, the platforms’ 1 billion monthly active user base ensures extremely wide reach. The app’s popularity has created an evolving business model in which creators are moving from “personality-based fame” to “content-based fame,” Literat said.
“People no longer need to build up followers over time, they just need to do something weird or unexpected that goes viral and the followers will come later,” he said.
In both the frog and ladybug cases, users chatted with their followers and were encouraged by them.
Frog army supporters commented on the user’s videos asking how they can collect their own eggs. And the user behind the ladybug release claimed to have explicitly released his hack in exchange for commitment saying, “if this video gets 30 likes, I’ll buy 100 million ladybugs and have a ladybug invasion of New York.”
“They’re doing this to get likes or shares,” said Curry, the conservation biologist. “It’s a popularity gimmick that can have extremely negative consequences.”
He noted that such releases could also be illegal. Laws vary by country and state, Curry said, but he encouraged people to call their state wildlife agency if they see such activity on TikTok.
TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Source: www.theguardian.com