TikTok's rating drops after Internet war erupts between influencers of short video platform and YouTube

BENGALURU: Short video platform TikTok has seen its rating drop to two stars from 4.6 stars in the last one week on Google app store after an Internet war erupted between a YouTube influencer and TikTok creator in India.

It all started when TikTok creator Amir Siddiqui posted a video on Instagram calling out YouTubers. In his video, Amir Siddiqui accused YouTubers of plagiarizing TikTok content and losing out on brand endorsements. Popular roaster Ajey Nagar, known as CarryMinati, lashed out against Amir Siddiqui's video on YouTube, which was later taken down for violating the platform's terms of service. The video that registered millions of views was expletive-laden.

After his video was deleted on YouTube, his fans started a trend #RoastNahiFryKarunga and #BanTikTok on Twitter. #BanTikTokInIndia, #TikTokdown, #TikTokexposed were also trending on the micro-blogging platform.


Twitter saw an explosion of memes targeting TikTok and Amir Siddique, urging people to downgrade the app. Several anti-China and TikTok critics have jumped on the bandwagon asking for a ban on the Chinese platform, accusing its creators of promoting violence, hate, and acid attacks.

While hashtags asking for a ban on TikTok are not new, the recent campaign not only targets the ByteDance-owned platform but also its creators, who largely hail from smaller towns in India. Right-wing activists, including Vikas Pandey, have accused the platform of promoting terrorism, Islamic conversion, and vulgar videos.

Email sent to TikTok did not elicit a response.

TikTok has more than 200 million users in India and remains one of the most popular social media apps in the country. It has been downloaded more than 2 billion times globally on the App Store and Google Play, according to Sensor Tower Store Intelligence's latest estimates.