Four people in Alabama were killed after engaging in a risky social media trend involving leaping off moving boats and into the water, according to officials.
Captain Jim Dennis of the Childersburg Rescue Squad confirmed that the victims died instantly from severe neck injuries sustained when they leapt into the water from their moving vessel. Despite warnings about its inherent dangers, this trend has seen a surge in participation with the arrival of summer and an increase in water-based recreational activities.
Gail Kulp, Executive Director of the Sea Tow Foundation, has compared the impact of jumping from a moving boat into water to hitting concrete from a substantial height. Besides the immediate risk of injury, other potential dangers include colliding with boat propellers or being run over by another watercraft. Even with life jackets, participants are not immune to serious harm or death, leading safety experts to strongly advise against engaging in these hazardous challenges.
TikTok, where this stunt gained significant traction, has responded by appending warnings to specific videos related to the trend. While the platform does not officially promote this activity as a TikTok challenge, it recognizes the risk of harm and discourages users from attempting such dangerous feats.
ByteDance Ltd, the Beijing-based company that owns TikTok, has faced numerous controversies regarding risky challenges propagated on its platform, which boasts over 150 million users in the United States alone. The company continues to underline its liability clause in its terms of service, urging users to interact with the platform responsibly.
TikTok’s Terms of Service clearly states, “We accept no liability in respect of any content submitted by users and published by us or by authorized third parties.”