TikTok Is Taking Down Milk Crate Challenge Videos Amid Safety Warnings

TikTok is taking down milk crate challenge videos, as it 'prohibits content that promotes or glorifies dangerous acts'.

The viral trend sees people attempt to walk up a precarious pyramid stack of crates, which invariably tumbles underneath them.

Videos of the challenge have been viewed millions of times, but TikTok is trying to prevent the spread of the trend by taking down videos and blocking searches for 'milk crate challenge'.

In a statement, the platform said: "TikTok prohibits content that promotes or glorifies dangerous acts, and we remove videos and redirect searches to our Community Guidelines to discourage such content.

"We encourage everyone to exercise caution in their behaviour whether online or off."

It comes after numerous warnings from health professionals about the trend's inherent risk.

Dr Karan Rangarajan told Insider: "The milk crate challenge... poses a high risk of exposing yourself to orthopaedic injuries as well as injuries to the head and neck as a result of falling from heights onto the ground or the crates themselves which can puncture the skin.

"Injuries can range from broken bones, ligament injuries and dislocations to potentially life-threatening ones such as spinal cord injuries or intracranial bleeds [which is] a bleed inside the skull."

PA

Orthopaedic surgeon Dr Vonda Wright echoed this message.

She told NBC News: "This is probably the [craze] that I've seen that has the highest potential for bodily injury that will take people out not just of their daily lives, but could have lifelong implications."

She added: "I get that it's fun but let's use our brains for something other than hitting our heads on the ground."

A fair point well made; probably isn't worth a few likes, is it?

If the theoretical risk isn't enough to put you off though, perhaps the injuries of Renard Smith Sr will.

He shared photos of his severely bruised back on Twitter, captioning the post 'Man f*** the milk crate challenge.'

Clearly, taking on the challenge would be a daft thing to do any time, anywhere. But it would be particularly foolish to get involved in the craze now, given that hospitals the world over have been put under immense pressure by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Baltimore City Health Department summarised the situation perfectly in a tweet that read: "With Covid-19 hospitalisations rising around the country, please check with your local hospital to see if they have a bed available for you, before attempting the #milkcratechallenge."

So come on then folks, how about we get back to trying to lick our noses, or move chocolates from our foreheads into our mouths with no hands, like the good old harmless challenge days?

Topics: Viral, Social Media, TikTok

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey