“Disgusting”—that’s how the family of an Aboriginal man, whose TikTok video has gone viral, described the situation.
The video, originally uploaded by Aurukun man Eric Yunkaporta on his TikTok account three years ago, is now being downloaded and misused as a “FaceTime prank.”
This trend involves TikTok creators recording themselves video calling a friend or relative, but instead of showing their own faces, they make it appear as though they are calling using Eric’s TikTok video.
Users all across the world have viewed the trend, which is also visible on other social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube.
Eloise and Leona Yunkaporta, Eric’s cousins who also reside in the Aurukun community in north Queensland, said the family and the community at large were taken aback upon seeing the video shared on social media.
Town councilor Leona Yunkaporta stated, “It’s bullying and making a mockery out of First Nations people, and they don’t understand how we feel.”
“We got a shock when we saw our cousin’s videos and his image on social media platforms without his knowledge and consent. It’s wrong and it’s not funny,” she continued.
“It’s just very upsetting for us to see people making fun of him and he doesn’t even have a clue what’s going on,” Eloise Yunkaporta added. “We’ve explained most of the parts where this has gotten serious and he said, ‘I don’t want that [on there]. I want to take it down.’”
Following in the footsteps of his father, one of their clan’s cultural knowledge keepers, Eric Yunkaporta is a well-respected emerging leader in his community.
The said trend has also drawn criticism from a number of First Nations content creators, who have called for its removal and denounced it as discriminatory.
Isaac Compton, a Wiradjuri and Mununjali content creator stated that the trend left a “bad taste in my mouth” when he initially noticed it.
He went on to say that the pattern is a reflection of racism that persists in today’s society.
Wayne Quilliam, a Palawa photographer hopes that people share his Eric Yunkaporta National Photographic Portrait Prize-winning image “to combat the extreme racism taking place online.” He mentioned that everyone needs to reflect on how they treat others online.
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Although some content creators have already apologized for participating in the trend, Eric’s cousins stated that “it’s a little too late because it’s caused a lot of upset” within their family. They appreciate that they have apologized but they hope that they don’t do this to someone else.
A spokesperson from TikTok told ABC that while sharing content from another user does not breach their community guidelines, they have already taken action on the said situation.
While they stated that “some suggestions relating to this topic will also not be visible,” videos using Eric’s face can still be found on the platform.
The spokesperson then responded stating that users “agree that your content can be used and shared by others on TikTok” and suggested people could “limit” this through making these accounts private.
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