On Monday morning, a segment on the Today Show covered what was believed to be a deadly TikTok challenge called the “boat jumping challenge.” However, this claim turned out to be false. The news segment, along with an article on Today.com, spread the misinformation that multiple people had died as a result of this challenge. Numerous other media outlets, including People, Forbes, the Daily Mail, and the New York Post, echoed these claims, and right-wing internet commentators amplified the misinformation. However, TikTok itself stated that no boat jumping challenge had gone viral on its platform, and there was no trending hashtag related to jumping off boats.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency also issued a statement denying the existence of the challenge and denounced the news story. When asked for evidence, the Today Show declined to comment until they acknowledged the ALEA’s statement on Thursday. People pointed to three TikTok videos, but none of them had gained much traction.
Prior to the media frenzy, there were very few searches for “boat jumping” on TikTok. However, after the news broke, searches increased dramatically. Additionally, several articles falsely claimed that a 13-year-old boy had died from a TikTok “Benadryl challenge,” which also turned out to be untrue.
This incident highlights a recurring trend where viral challenges are incorrectly attributed to TikTok. Emily Dreyfuss, who educates news executives on disinformation and media manipulation at Harvard University, expressed disappointment in the Today Show for not learning from past mistakes. Similar false challenges have been attributed to TikTok since it gained mainstream popularity in 2020. Representatives in Congress have even questioned TikTok’s CEO about these nonexistent challenges based on false information sourced from news accounts. In the past, it was revealed that Facebook hired a conservative lobbying firm to plant news about fake TikTok challenges in local media.
The origin of the “boat jumping challenge” can be traced back to a comment made by a resident during a news broadcast in Alabama. The comment claimed that TikTok was the cause of children jumping off boats, but no evidence was provided. The journalist who reported the story did not conduct further research and allowed the claim to be included in the segment.
After the segment went viral, the news outlet issued clarifications and updates to the stories. The Today Show removed the television segment and posted a clarification on their website. ABC 33/40, the news station where the comment originated, also published an on-air clarification and a new story that contradicted the initial claim.
This incident reflects the pattern of news media preying on parental fears about teen trends, especially those related to technology. Many parents feel overwhelmed by the potential dangers associated with their children’s phone apps. However, these fears are often based on false information. Prior to TikTok, similar fake trends were attributed to YouTube and Facebook. It is crucial for media outlets to fact-check and verify claims before reporting them in order to prevent unnecessary panic and misinformation.
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