The claim: A group of men on TikTok plan to commit sexual assault on April 24 on “National Rape Day”
As communities observe Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, a disturbing trend goes viral on TikTok – warnings on “National Rape Day.”
The predominant account is that a group of six men recently created a TikTok video in which they encouraged others to commit sexual assault on April 24.
Millions of social media users have seen or shared reactions to the perceived threat on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. However, neither USA TODAY nor TikTok could find any evidence of the threat users were responding to.
“If anyone has plans for April 24, DON’T GET OUT !!!! there are men who are planning a NATIONAL STAY FOR RAPE DAY INSIDE !!!! reads an image shared on Facebook.
Another widely shared image claims the threat is from “six men on TikTok” who “claimed that on April 24, 2021, it was legal to sexually assault anyone – and they even provided advice on how to do it.” This image is a screenshot from an April 17 article from the online publication Distractify.
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That hasn’t stopped social media users from making their fears known to their followers. Most of the discussion took place on TikTok, where # april24 had over 31.1 million views and over a thousand videos at the time of publication. The vast majority of these videos contained security warnings and convictions of the day.
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Some messages advised women to stay home, travel in groups, and carry weapons, while others threatened those who might commit assault in veil.
A viral video compared the day to the movie “The Purge”.
Several law enforcement officers joined the trend by posting videos that threatened potential attackers with arrests.
According to CrowdTangle, there are over 1,000 Facebook posts and nearly 50 Instagram posts on “National Rape Day” in the week before this fact check was released.
USA TODAY has contacted several accounts which have published articles on the alleged threat.
No evidence of the initial threat
TikTok confirmed in a statement to USA TODAY that it did not find the alleged original video on its platform.
“Keeping our community safe is our top priority, and we do not condone any content that promotes or glorifies non-consensual sex acts, including rape and sexual assault,” a TikTok spokesperson wrote in an email. . “While we have not found any evidence on our platform for any video related to this topic, our security team remains vigilant and we will remove content that violates our policies.”
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USA TODAY analyzed over 100 videos under TikTok’s # april24 and found no trace of the allegedly original and threatening video. Some creators claim to have seen the video but have not shared it, nor assembled, nor as a duo.
USA TODAY contacted several creators who posted on the original video. None responded to requests for comment.
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Several news outlets, including Distractify, Newsweek and Tech Times, reported on the trend online and referred to the “six men” who posed the initial threat. The articles provided no evidence that reporters had viewed the video.
Our rating: False
We are evaluating the claim that a group of men on TikTok plan to sexually assault women and children on April 24 by observing “National Rape Day” FALSE, as it is not supported by our research. Despite countless social media posts responding to the alleged threat, neither USA TODAY nor TikTok found any evidence that the video allegedly constituted the original threat as claimed.
Our sources of fact-checking:
- RAINN, accessed April 19, “Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month”
- Distractify, April 17, “What’s Happening on April 24 on TikTok? The disturbing trend, explained”
- TikTok, accessed April 19 # april24
- la.tania.ftn2, April 17, TikTok video
- splendid_allday, April 18, TikTok video
- itzjtyler, April 17, TikTok video
- skillerswag, April 18, TikTok video
- anthony_2890, April 18, TikTok video
- officeralphabet, April 18, TikTok video
- USA TODAY, April 19, email with a TikTok spokesperson
- Newsweek, April 18, “The disturbing April 24 TikTok trend explained – and how to report videos”
- Tech Times, April 18, “TikTok April 24 Trend: What It Is, How It Started, And How To Report It”
If you are a sexual assault survivor, RAINN offers support through the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE & online.rainn.org).
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Our fact-checking work is funded in part by a grant from Facebook.
