At the beginning of the game, the debate sometimes goes on, but the chatter in the game can be quite common. The action takes place between people who sacrifice trying to outdo each other.
There is a brand new language, digital currency, and many obscure rules that are part of the gameplay, which adds to the surreal nature of the events.
We’ve seen some of the most valuable items given away, such as a ‘TikTok universe’ worth over $500 (£385) and nearly 50,000 TikTok coins. This causes an animation of people dancing to a catchy song.
Slightly cheaper at $400 (£308) and a fan favorite is the lion that roars loudly as it runs across the screen. Is there a softer whale emerging from an underwater tunnel.
Some gifts apply filters to the influencer’s face, such as a cowboy hat and mustache, a red beret, or a seasonal pumpkin head.
Zara says she started playing because she wanted to protect her clan’s honor.
It was “exciting” and “my side always won,” she recalls.
But Zara spent more than $7,000 on the games, which was intended to pay for her university education.
“If my parents found out I was spending a lot of money on TikTok, they would be devastated – they (wouldn’t) be happy – but somehow it’s like an addiction.”
She also questions why she gave her hard-earned money to influential people who rarely showed gratitude.
But when she was drawn deeper into this world, she experienced something much more sinister.
We’ve seen evidence that an influential man living in the US has insulted and threatened female TikTokers – threatening to post their images in a sexual manner.
Zara says it happens a lot: “They find out who you are, they grab your family photos, your picture and say, ‘I’m going to expose you.’
She says a man who lives in the US did this to her and she was so scared and worried that her family would see the doctored picture he threatened to share that she couldn’t sleep at night.
“Imagine your family seeing your nude photos. They don’t know it’s Photoshop.”
When Zara reported the account to TikTok, she said they didn’t do anything.
The influencer goes by the name Hussain Kibrai online and has over 200,000 followers. He often takes part in games.
Zara believes other women were threatened in this way, but we haven’t seen the photoshopped images of her – or other women – that he shared publicly.
We asked him about his behavior but he did not respond to our message.
After the BBC contacted TikTok about Kibrai’s accounts, the social media platform responded that it had now banned them for violating its adult sexual and physical abuse policy.
In a statement, a TikTok spokesperson said: “We prioritize the safety of our community with some of the strictest streaming requirements in the industry, including Match specific content policies, customizable security tools for viewers and only allowing people over 18 to stream live or send gifts. .”
