Can you believe Makayla was dropped fromBama Rush?
Do you thinkCouch Guywas cheating?
Did you seeGabby Petitoslast post before she went missing?
If you dont spend much time online, you may not recognize these names.
But on TikTok, their stories became sensationalized, memeified, hashtagged and rehashed.
The most recent is #WestElmCaleb.
Traditional tabloids place the lurid limelight on celebrities and public figures.
But the TikTok tabloid targets everyday people.
It’s free, every week, in your inbox.
How did we get to the age of the TikTok tabloid?
These papers were particularly popular amongworking class readerswho revealed in the speculative shenanigans of high society.
Tabloid journalismmigrated to the small screenin the 1990s with television shows like Hard Copy and Inside Edition.
And in the 2000s, the internet churned outround-the-clock celebrity gossipwith clickbait headlines on websites like TMZ.com and PerezHilton.com.
Previous eras of tabloid journalism were marked byhighly curated contentwith a focus on lifestyles of the rich and famous.
The brokers of attention were editors, publishers, paparazzi, journalistsand publicists.
Tabloids filtered information to the masses, and in turn the masses influenced celebrity behaviors.
TMZ is an online clearinghouse for celebrity gossip.
This always-on dynamic works to control behavior.
Third, storytelling practices on the TikTok platform mimic exclusive reports, hot takes and cliffhanger media.
These stories then take on lives of their own,becoming culturally embedded memes.
Social mediacan be a useful mechanism for accountability.
A nugget of content can be collectively transformed into an epic drama.
But there can a dark side to this form ofpublic shamingandinternet sleuthing.
The constant churn of sensational news can take a toll onwell-being, particularly for those mostdirectly involved.
She later posted a tearful video pleading for the emotional attacks to stop.
Who manages the public images of people who didnt choose to become public figures?
It would be easy to say they should just stay off TikTok.
But its not that simple.
Social surveillance ensures we all have the potential to become headline news beholden to the TikTok tabloid taste-makers.
