|
Among the fistfuls of reporting threads I’ve kept gripping over the years are two topics that recently converged in a TikTok story: health misinformation online and viral challenges.
Welcome to the “borax challenge,” where people are drinking borax in water and claiming all sorts of health benefits from it. And yes, people really were filming themselves drinking borax and posting the videos to TikTok. People really were trying it out because they saw the trend, and getting hurt.
The piece I wrote was indeed inspired by the increase of attention to all this recently because of some viral TikTok videos, both those promoting and condemning this dangerous practice. But my story is about the sleight of hand that comes when networks of online misinformation can weaponize trend culture to find new audiences.
As word of the challenge spread, some viewers flocked to private Facebook groups devoted to borax drinking for advice. Those groups, along with YouTube videos, dubious articles, and grifters selling guides to “cleanses” including the stuff had been online for years. And, even as the attention from the TikTok trend prompts some platforms to take action against videos promoting drinking laundry detergent, these videos will simply reappear once the attention dies down.
You can read the story at Vox here.
|