TikTok has taken action against the viral ’milk crate’ challenge over safety concerns, according to reports.
The short-video sharing platform has warned users that it will ban ‘milk crate’ challenge videos from its platform after a reported increase of injuries sustained by people participating in the viral trend.
The challenge — which consists of walking up and down an unsecured pyramid made out of milk crates, often resulting in an awkward and calamitous fall – became popular on social media platforms earlier in August.
In a statement to Dailymail.com on Wednesday, a TikTok representative said the app ‘prohibits content that promotes or glorifies dangerous acts, and we remove videos and redirect searches to our Community Guidelines to discourage such content.’
‘We encourage everyone to exercise caution in their behaviour whether online or off,’ the spokesperson added, while also confirming that tags will also be removed.
As the COVID delta variant continues to spread across the U.S. leaving some hospitals overwhelmed, the ‘milk crate’ challenge has prompted health officials to issue warnings, asking people to think twice before attempting the trick.
‘With COVID-19 hospitalizations rising around the country, please check with your local hospital to see if they have a bed available for you, before attempting the #milkcratechallenge,’ the Baltimore City Health Department tweeted on Monday.
One woman successfully climbed a pyramid while wearing heels.
According to the Know Your Meme website the challenge drew inspiration from a June 2011 video titled ‘Guy Falls Off 6 Milk Crates.’
On August 1, videos shared on Facebook by a Chicago resident showed two men trying to walk over the pyramid of milk crates. It is considered the first video of the now popular milk crate challenge.
Two weeks later, the challenge gained traction when another video of people failing the challenge was posted to TikTok, where it received more than 5 million views in one day.
Since then, the milk crate challenge has been filmed as well as attempted in countless of communities around the US.
Videos shared to social media and viewed by millions have helped the challenge trend over the past week across multiple platforms, which is predicted to last until the end of this summer, if not longer.