China-owned TikTok has been established as a grave threat to America’s national security due to the Chinese government’s ability to use TikTok to control users’ devices for influence or espionage purposes.
But what children watch online can also be dangerous and parents need to be involved.
Breitbart reported on a story in Argentina involving a young girl taking part in a “choking challenge” she saw on TikTok. Her classmates pressured her to partake in the deadly activity and then they watched her die.
Here are the blood-boiling details from Breitbart:
TRENDING: EXCELLENT! Reps. Boebert, Gosar, and Greene Appointed to the House Oversight Committee
A 12-year-old girl in Argentina has died after participating in the deadly “choking challenge” first popularized on the China-owned app TikTok.
The girl’s death was filmed in a video call with her classmates watching as she attempting the choking challenge, also known as the “blackout challenge,” prompted by TikTok, reports El Litoral.
The 12-year-old girl, Milagros Soto, was “encouraged” by her classmates to participate in the fatal TikTok challenge, which involved “recording herself and managing to hold her breath with an object tied to her neck until she fainted,” the report added.
Soto, who had lived in Capitán Bermúdez, Argentina, was found dead hanging in her room on Friday. Her relatives are now asking to “raise awareness” about the risks associated with viral TikTok challenges, so that it doesn’t happen to anyone else.
“my little niece… who lost her life today doing a tik tok challenge — my family and I are inconsolable,” the girl’s aunt, Laura Luque, wrote in a social media post on Friday.
Soto is not the first child to die as a result of a TikTok challenge. Last summer, 14-year-old Leon Brown and 12-year-old Archie Battersbee of the UK allegedly died due to attempting the same “blackout challenge.”
Breitbart goes on to list several other deadly challenges promoted by TikTok users. Last September, there was a “challenge” encouraging children to cook chicken with Nyquil, an activity that could cause severe liver damage or even death.
Another “challenge” back in 2020 coaxed TikTok users to get high off of Benadryl. Several teens undertook this challenge and ended up dying as a result.
Parents need to be involved.