Bytedance’s popular video sharing platform, TikTok has made headlines once again. However, this time, the controversy is surrounding its creators. The app has come in the crossfire of a tussle between popular content creators, Amir Siddiqui of TikTok and CarryMinati (who’s real name is Ajey Nagar) of YouTube. Adding fuel to fire, TikTok has been receiving 1-star ratings on Google’s Play Store following another creator, Faizal Siddiqui’s, controversial video glorifying acid attacks on women in a video.
The issue began when Amir Siddiqui made a video calling out YouTubers. He went on to compare both the platforms and highlighted the unity of creators on the short-video platform. He further accused YouTubers of plagiarising TikTok’s contents and called out for people who roast them to respond. To this, Ajey Nagar (YouTube channel: CarryMinati), who has more than 16 Million subscribers, replied through a video titled ‘YouTube vs TikTok: The End’ where he roasted the TikTok creator.
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The video rose to fame very quickly and gained millions of views, making it to the top of the trending charts, only to be removed later by YouTube on grounds of ‘Terms of Service violation’. This hurt many fans of YouTube and CarryMinati, as they started trending hashtags against TikTok, and sharing memes on Social Media.
They did not stop there as many fans apparently started uninstalling and reporting TikTok on Google’s Playstore and Apple’s App Store, making the app flooded with a 1-star rating. Some popular YouTubers like Technical Guruji also came in support of CarryMinati by sharing a video of uninstalling TikTok on their phones.
Adding to this, Faizal Siddique, who happens to be the brother of Amir Siddique, posted a video on TikTok and it received heavy criticism as the video has been accused of glorifying acid attacks on women. He has defended the video saying it has been misinterpreted.
TikTok, an app which has Beijing as its headquarters, is trying hard to remove the Chinese app image on it. It has been promoting the application in and out through popular celebrities in its highest markets like the USA and India, where some people often call for a ban on Chinese services, on social media. However, recent trends are really not helping the company’s ad campaigns, as it is left with an average 2-star rating on Play Store. However, Apple’s App store rating is unaffected.
It remains to be seen how TikTok will handle this issue, further in the future.