In February this year, a young TikTok user who claims to be based in the UK started creating an “army of frogs” after noticing “some kind of eggs in a shallow pond near his house”. In recent videos, he claimed to have collected more than 1.4 million eggs that have hatched into tadpoles in a backyard pool he built. “I wanted to create the biggest army of frogs in history,” he said in a video. “Next year I will create a huge pond for 10 million frogs.” Also this spring, another TikTok user claimed to have released 100 million ladybugs in New York’s Central Park. In later posts, he claimed he had been sued in response and had fled the US. Amassing hundreds of millions of views as commenters egged them on, both users continued to escalate their stunts, promising more releases of more animals. They have even hinted that they will meet. While the Guardian has not been able to independently confirm the accuracy of either user’s accounts – neither responded to multiple requests for comment and there has been speculation that the videos may be hoaxes – the huge popularity of the videos has scientists worried. The leader of the “frog army” now has more than 2 million followers and over 20 million cumulative likes on his page. The “lady bug raid” maestro has more than 42 million views on his videos. “It makes me cringe,” said Tierra Curry, a conservation biologist at the Center for Biological Diversity. Relocating species such as frogs and butterflies can have serious effects, Curry said. “Instead of helping, [These TikTok users] they actually harm the animals they release and all the animals in the environment they release them into – it creates a vector for disease and invasive species,” he said. Scientists say that if true, the frog release is worrisome given that human relocation of frogs is a top threat to the species. A fungus introduced by humans redistributing amphibians has caused a “mass extinction” event, wiping out more than 90 species of frogs. “It’s the law of unintended consequences,” said Chris Nagano, who worked for 27 years as an endangered species biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “I have no doubt that this person may have thought they were doing something good, but they may actually be driving these populations to extinction.” Experts worry that the way TikTok works is exacerbating the problem. TikTok differs from platforms like Instagram and Twitter in that its feed is largely made up of people the user doesn’t follow, allowing algorithms to surface content from across the web. Because how its feed works remains relatively unknown, users are more likely to post increasingly “unexpected” content to bolster their opinions, said Ioana Literat, an associate professor at Columbia University’s Teachers College. “Because it’s such a black box, a lot of users just throw things at the wall to see what sticks,” he said. “More than established platforms, TikTok’s ethos really fosters the unusual and creative.” When videos go viral, the platform’s 1 billion monthly active user base guarantees an extremely broad reach. The app’s popularity has created an evolving business model in which creators are shifting from personality-based to content-based fame, Literat said. “People no longer have to build a following over time, they just have to do a weird or unexpected thing that goes viral and the followers will come later,” he said. In both the frog and ladybug cases, users were engaging with and being encouraged by their followers. Frog Army followers commented on the user’s videos asking how they can collect their own eggs. And the user behind the ladybug release claimed he specifically launched his stunt in exchange for the engagement, saying: “If this video gets 30 likes I’ll buy 100 million ladybugs and do a lady bug invasion of New York.” “They do this to get likes or shares,” said Curry, the conservation biologist. “It’s a popularity stunt that can have extremely negative consequences.” He noted that such releases could also be illegal. Laws vary by country and state, Curry said, but she encouraged people to call their state wildlife agency if they see such activity on TikTok. TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
