The latest TikTok challenge comes in the form of the “slap a teacher” challenge. It follows closely on the heels of the “devious licks” challenge that encouraged students to steal school equipment. But the social media platform denies any such content is circulating.
It’s believed that rumors of the “slap a teacher” challenge originated on other social media platforms rather than TikTok. It is believed to have started circulating on Facebook in a hypothetical monthly TikTok challenge list. The challenge began spreading around Facebook in mid-September.
“This alleged ‘challenge’ would violate our policies, and we would aggressively remove such content, but the reality is that we have not found related content on our platform, and most people appear to be learning about the offline dare from sources other than TikTok,” a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement to Insider.
Any searches associated with the challenge have been redirected to a landing page warning users that “slap a teacher” or “slapateacher” violate TikTok’s guidelines. The video-sharing platform warned that content related to the challenge makes its way onto the platform, it will be removed.
The rumored 'slap a teacher' dare is an insult to educators everywhere. And while this is not a trend on TikTok, if at any point it shows up, content will be removed. Learn more about practicing responsible behavior here: https://t.co/68VWesl9rf
— TikTokComms (@TikTokComms) October 6, 2021
Videos related to the challenge on TikTok are mostly from teachers warning students not to slap anyone. The comments on the videos mainly support what TikTok has said, that no one is posting videos hitting teachers
