Many new conspiracy theories about the Apocalypse are spreading

TikTok users are coming up with a series of strange conspiracy theories about the end of the world, from cannibal monsters, vampires to killer asteroids, researchers say.

NDTV page cited a report by non-profit organization Media Matters on trends as saying that TikTok users seek to make money from viral videos that have unfounded claims about the US government secretly arresting or detaining people. preserves mythical monsters, including King Kong.

Illustration about Doomsday: NDTV.

The videos are often accompanied by spooky background music, feature urgent voices generated by artificial intelligence (AI), or sometimes imitate celebrity voices. These videos attract millions of views. "We're all going to die in the next few years. Have you heard about this ," a voice impersonating newscaster Joe Rogan says in a video that's going viral on TikTok.

"There is an asteroid about to collide with Earth ," the voice in the video said and further revealed that it was information told by a US government official after accidentally finding a pair of documents labeled as confidential.

Conspiracy videos are often posted by anonymous accounts, always with telltale signs of AI-generated images such as extra and deformed fingers, said TikTok disinformation researcher Abbie Richards. . She added that selling such theories can bring bonuses to the poster.

TikTok's "Creator Program" is designed to pay content creators on the platform. According to Abbie, the program has spawned an industry of conspiracy videos powered by AI tools like text-to-speech apps.

A TikTok spokesperson asserted that "conspiracy theories are not eligible to be monetized or recommended " in users' feeds. "Harmful misinformation is prohibited and our safety team proactively removes 95% of it before it is reported."

However, tutorials on other platforms like YouTube have shown users how to create viral conspiracy videos and profit from Tiktok's creative agenda. One public guide instructs users to start by making up something outrageous like "scientists were just caught hiding a saber-toothed tiger."

In the US, where the TikTok app has 170 million users - nearly half of the population, lawmakers last week supported a bill to ban TikTok. American policymakers have repeatedly expressed concerns about TikTok's alleged ties to the Chinese government, the safety of users' data, and its apparent impact on national security. .