TikTokers slam ‘fatphobic’ filter that’s getting millions of views

TikTokers are criticizing a new trend taking off on the viral video app, which uses a filter that many users are labeling as ‘fatphobic.’

TikTok is a social media platform that’s home to a slew of popular trends and crazes. From spawning its viral baked feta pasta to creating challenges like the ‘incantation challenge,’ TikTok is the number one place for fads to go viral.

However, the app’s latest hot trend is sparking some backlash among viewers for using what many critics are calling a ‘fatphobic’ facial filter.

Filters are nothing new on TikTok, and certain ones tend to go viral from time to time. Most recently, a popular ‘planets’ filter took over the platform for the jaw-dropping effect it lends to one’s videos.

This newest trend, though, uses a filter that makes a person’s face bigger and exaggerates their features — and many users aren’t happy about it.

The fad appears to have been sparked by TikTok by user ‘eunicetjoaa,’ who shared her video using the filter on June 25, 2022. The ‘transformation’ from the filter to her real face went viral, garnering over 30 million views and 2.3 million likes.

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Other users soon started making their own ‘transformation’ videos using the filter, which similarly received a lot of attention… but the comments sections on these clips are also packed with criticism against the TikTokers for using the ‘fatphobic’ filter.

“Yeah, let’s not do this,” one user wrote.

“2.3m likes? Why do we still condone this behavior?” another asked.

“Y’all really showing ur true colors,” another remarked.

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TikToker ‘splotchmaker’ duetted a video with one TikToker who used the filter, katiania.kay, writing: “I know everyone’s making videos about this trend but YIKES to anyone doing this. Fatphobes.”

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This is just the latest trend to spark backlash on TikTok, with the platform’s viral ‘spa water’ also coming under scrutiny for “gentrifying agua frescas.”