The TikTok boat-jumping challenge, which allegedly claimed the lives of some people who attempted to do it, was found to be untrue, per The Washington Post.
When the challenge was featured on the Today Show broadcast on Monday, July 10, everyone thought that this alarming trend needs to stop as soon as possible. However, a public safety agency from Alabama said that the boating deaths related to the challenge are all fake.
The origin of the misinformation can be traced back to statements made by Jim Dennis, a first responder from the Childersburg Rescue Squad in Alabama. This clarification comes as media outlets worldwide had picked up the story, but subsequent investigations have revealed no evidence to support the claims.
False Claims Dispelled on TikTok Boat-Jumping Challenge
With the rise of different challenges on TikTok, it appears that almost all of them are true, but not in the case of the boat-jumping challenge.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), responsible for overseeing public safety in the state, took to Twitter to address the viral claims.
The ALEA's Marine Patrol Division stated that there were no records of boating-related deaths directly linked to TikTok or any TikTok trend, per Channel News Asia. While there were incidents of fatal injuries resulting from jumping off moving boats in 2020 and 2021, these were not associated with TikTok.
Revisiting the Original Claims
Jim Dennis, the individual who initially made the TikTok-related statements, has since clarified that his remarks were taken out of context. He mentioned that his organization did respond to reports of people jumping off boats this year, but not as part of a TikTok challenge.
"It got blown way out of proportion," Dennis said.
The news station that aired the story, ABC 33/40, declined to comment but included the full interview with Dennis in a subsequent report discussing the state's response.
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Absence of Evidence on TikTok
TikTok spokesperson Ben Rathe categorically stated that no boat-jumping challenge had ever trended on the platform. While there are posts on TikTok featuring people jumping off boats, they do not appear to have gained significant virality or widespread attention.
Some of these posts have been flagged with warning labels by TikTok due to the platform's community guidelines that prohibit promoting dangerous activities and challenges.
Elizabeth Losh, an American studies professor at William & Mary, confirmed the existence of boat-jumping posts on TikTok, including one from 2019 using the hashtag #boatjumpchallenge.
However, these posts did not achieve notable popularity or widespread circulation. Losh also highlighted that TikTok had placed warning labels on some of these posts, as the platform prohibits content that may lead to significant physical harm.
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