What Is Alt TikTok? There's Currently A War Between Straight And Alt ...

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If you are wondering what "Alt TikTok" is, it's most likely because you're not part of Alt TikTok. It's not an exclusive club or anything — it's more like a state of mind. And right now, there's a pretty heated war between Alt TikTok and Straight TikTok. If you're even more confused now, we'll break things down for you.

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What is Alt TikTok?

Alt TikTok is a response to the popular videos on TikTok that show influencers (like members of Hype House) dancing and starting "mainstream" trends like "Wipe It Down" and setting background audio to Melanie Martinez's "Play Date." When you probably think of TikTok, you probably think of "Straight TikTok" (and no, it seemingly has nothing to do with the LGBTQ community — although this *is* referenced, but we'll get to that in a second). Alt TikTok consists of arbitrary, random fixations (like #FreeAdam2020) and other "underground" trends.

Alt TikTok brings back the "I can't put my finger on why this makes me laugh/feel seen" kind of content that was so prevalent on platforms like Vine (or even Musically back before it became TikTok). Kind of like the "Attack of the Umbrellas" Vine.

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Here's an example of what would be considered Alt TikTok now:

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@free_adam_2020

Like more more rare footage😳 ##fyp ##freeadam2020 ##freeadam ##saveadam ##saveadam2020

♬ ALL IN - ZaeHD & CEO

There's a war between Alt TikTok and Straight TikTok going on.

Apparently Straight TikTokers now want to create content that would be considered Alt TikTok, and Alt TikTok isn't having any of it. This seemingly all started when Alt TikTok started mocking Straight TikTok and popular TikToker @avani (who apparently used to be Alt TikTok — until she sold out) became pretty defensive about it.

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Twitter user @cloudierosie explained, "Okay so alt. tiktok made a fake audio to mock the trends on straight tiktok and Addison and avani both fell for it and made videos using it and she made five tweets about the whole situation."

Okay so alt. tiktok made a fake audio to mock the trends on straight tiktok and Addison and avani both fell for it and made videos using it and she made five tweets about the whole situation 💀 pic.twitter.com/uuPqC94onm

— er barnet 🧸 (@cloudierosie) May 26, 2020

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Avani responded in a now-deleted tweet, saying, "it's to show that 'straight' people will dance to anything and this audio was basically made to make fun of people who dance to thirst traps and random noises. that's why it's called 'straight tiktok.'"

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Avani also wrote, "elite tiktok we stand strong!!! stay away from straight tiktok!!!" To which a Twitter user responded, "But you are straight TikTok."

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Now, people are joining in and adding their two cents.

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i know damn well miss avani wouldn’t say shit if she was in alt tiktok💀💀 just admit that ur salty that there’s a side of tiktok thats sick of repetitive dancing and clown makeup transitions... if ur not ready to change with changing trends dont get pissy over an inside joke💀💀 pic.twitter.com/gu52oXqpf8

— 𝐜𝐡𝐢🐁🌙(NSFR👨🏻‍⚖️👨🏻‍⚖️) (@mimichirri_) May 26, 2020

it’s hard for me to believe some people aren’t on the alt side of tiktok. y’all just wanna see girls throwing it back & i just wanna #freeadam2020 but whateva

— adrianna ortiz ;) (@aadriannaortizz) May 21, 2020

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Avani I absolutely love you but like, straight tiktok is just lele pons humour and ppl dancing and that’s not what tiktok was or was meant to be. It used to be actually funny content where no one cares abt looks and such. But alt tiktok is bringing it back :,)

— 🔥𝑨𝒅𝒊𝒃𝒂 𝑲𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒓🔥 (@desi_dolanz) May 25, 2020

why is avani so mad abt people calling the straight side of tiktok “straight tiktok” girlie just accept the fact that no one wants to see y’all dancing to every audio known to man & move on it’s ok that your humor isn’t elite like alt tiktok

— kristen (@peachyykristen) May 26, 2020

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Does Alt TikTok have anything to do with your sexuality?

Not exactly. Twitter user @rileycollinz probably explains it best, saying "not really straight tiktok is more just the dancing hype side of tiktok while gay/alt tiktok would be more gen z humor, talking about trauma and how terrible your life is, and making fun of people. It's more what you like [than] your sexuality."

not really straight tiktok is more just the dancing hype side of tiktok while gay/alt tiktok would be more gen z humor, talking about trauma and how terrible your life is, and making fun of people. It’s more what you like then your sexuality.

— riley (@rileycollinz) May 25, 2020

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But there have been some comparisons of Straight TikTok to straight people wanting to join the LGBTQ community and feeling left out when they realize it doesn't work that way.

avani making 5 tweets about alt tiktok is the epitome of straight kids throwing a tantrum when they aren’t allowed in lgbtq spaces

— 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲𓅰 (@percyp1g) May 26, 2020

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big creators getting mad that they’re on straight tiktok is such a mind fuck because y’all were definitely the type that bullied us for being alt and gay in middle school but now u wanna hang with us cause you see it’s so much better? bro shut up lmao

— Muddy (@notmuddizle) May 26, 2020

Now that you get Alt TikTok and Straight TikTok, whose side are you on? JK! Regardless of how you feel, TikTok in all forms is mean to be a creative outlet for everyone. Let's please be kind to each other (and if you feel like you're being cyber-bullied there are resources for you!).

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