Travis Scott Astroworld disaster conspiracy theories about wild satanic panic claims ‘being removed by TikTok’
THE crackpot satanic conspiracy theories that have been swirling online in the wake of Travis Scott's "mass casualty" Astroworld event are finally being taken down by TikTok, the video-sharing platform has assured.
Eight people were killed and hundreds of others injured at the concert in Scott's hometown of Houston, Texas, on Friday night as the crowd of around 50,000 suddenly surged towards the stage.
While the cause of the surge remains under investigation, a series of bizarre conspiracy theories have surfaced on TikTok in the days since, with many of them accusing Scott of conducting a large-scale satanic sacrifice in plain sight.
To support the ludicrous claims, conspiracy theorists are citing a series of "proofs", including so-called hidden messages on a t-shirt worn by Scott and apparent demonic symbolism in the design of the stage and promotional material for the event.
One of the platform's most popular videos on the subject, which racked up a staggering 23 million views, shows a hologram of a winged bat-like creature at the beginning of the show, surrounded by fire.
Captioned, "Not even 40 seconds in," the video's comments section was rife with conspiracy theories about satanic presences and perceived occult symbolism.
“Look at the symbolism!! A DOVE, a symbol of the human soul, ON FIRE?!?! They knew what they was doing. This is pure evil,” one of the top comments, which has 77,000 likes, reads.
A second clip that had upwards of 800,000 views showed a photo of the stage, highlighting eight flaming pillars.
"For those saying this wasn’t satanic. 8 pillars of flames and 8 people dead," the caption read.
TIKTOK UNDER FIRE
Initially, it appeared as though TikTok was doing little to stem the tide of misinformation. Yesterday, searching "Astroworld" on the app would bring up "Astroworld demonic" as the second suggested search term.
TikTok, like Instagram, shows videos algorithmically, rather than chronologically.
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This means that users won't see videos in the order they're posted, rather when an algorithm deems them interesting enough for them to see, depending on their engagement habits.
Therefore, anyone who engaged with a post about an Astroworld conspiracy theory is likely to continue seeing similar posts more frequently as they continue to scroll.
Following a report by a TikTok representative told the outlet that such conspiracy theory posts are a violation of the app's community guidelines and the company was working to remove them, including in search suggestions.
However, as reported by the outlet, misspelled or similar phrases, such as “atroworld demonic,” “astroworld conspiricy,” and “astroworld portal to hell,” are still visible in the suggested searches bar.
PAST FAILURES
TikTok has a long history of failing to curb conspiracy theories on its platform.
Last summer, the platform gave rise to the infamous Wayfair sex trafficking conspiracy theory, which suggested the online furniture retailer was secretly smuggling children in containers for its high-priced orders.
Various QAnon conspiracies and election fraud claims have also proliferated on the app in months prior.
Jessica Dean, a TikToker who goes by the handle @bloodbathbeyond, told RS: "We’ve seen time and time again, that TikTok is a platform which ‘conspiratorial content’ can and will perform very well.
"TikTok incentivises wacky, click-baity, content aimed towards young children. This is just another conspiracy in a long line of conspiracies we have seen skyrocket in popularity in no small part due to this platform.”
She continued that the spreading of Astroworld conspiracies is evidence of TikTok needing to " better manage the engagement and content which they are profiting off putting in front of the eyes of young impressionable teens."
"But," she said, "their historical pattern of behavior around these stories leaves me with little hope that TikTok will address this issue.”
TikTok has not yet returned a request for comment from The Sun.
CRACKPOT CONSPIRACIES
As previously reported, prior to TikTok's statement on Tuesday, the platform was rife with bizarre conspiracies attributing the tragic deaths of eight attendees to a "satanic bloody sacrifice" that some claimed was planned and carried out by Scott.
The design of the stage was the focus of many of the theories, as was the promotional material for the event.
“Anyone else notice that the stage is an inverted cross leading to a portal to Hell,” asked one TikToker, whose video has since racked up more than one million views.
Others pointed out that attendees entered the stage through the mouth of a large sculpture of Scott's head, likening it to the famous "Christ in Limbo" painting by Hieronymus Bosch which depicts the "mouth of Hell."
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Many of the conspiracies highlight that the slogan for the festival was "See you on the other side", which satanic panickers are claiming hinted towards the "planned blood sacrifice."
“We’re all suffocating, dying, and on the screen, it says ‘See you on the other side’ along with all the Illuminati symbols and the praying hand sucking our energy from us,” one TikToker said.
“I’m 100 percent convinced that this was literally an energy harvest, that this was a satanic ritual. Travis Scott was snatching people’s souls.”
QANON WADES IN
Members of the far-right and followers of QAnon have latched on to the misplaced hysteria and are stoking the flames of the satanic conspiracies.
“Just more proof that cements this as a ritual SACRIFICE…These people are SO UNBELIEVABLY SICK, AND EVIL,” Q influencer QAnon John wrote online.
"They do things like this to mock us, because they think we don’t know any better…Also, they are laughing at our stupidity, and naivety. There is NO such thing as ‘coincidence’. Ever."
He continued: "This Satanic ritual was WELL planned out in advance, and presented to be IN YOUR FACE WICKED.”
The head of a white supremacist website tweeted that "Travis Scott did a sacrifice", adding that one of his albums featured "depravity."
The topic "Astroworld Sacrifice" even became a trending topic on Facebook, while Twitter reported seeing an increase in the number of people using search terms such as "demonic ritual" and "blood sacrifice" when discussing the event.
In one tweet, a user wrote: "Bro that s*** was a concert in hell.. illuminati blood sacrifice type s**t Travis Scott sacrificed so many lives tonight by not stopping that f**king show that s**ts demonic. #AstroWorld."
"Travis Scott sold his soul to the devil. Astro World was a BLOOD SACRIFICE," added another.
"He took 8 innocent lives to pledge his allegiance to the occult elite. 'He didn't do it om purpose!' SO WHY IS HE SINGING AS THEY CARRY OFF A DEAD BODY THEN?!? #AstroWorld."
'SATANIC REFERENCES'
Other tweets fixated on the shirt worn by Scott during the performance, claiming a logo emblazoned across the front showed people "turning into demons after walking through a portal."
"It was literally called 'see you on the other side' and he wore a shirt with people turning into demons after walking through a portal," one tweeter wrote.
"I hope this starts to wake up the young, pop, hip hop, etc crowd to what’s happening," a user responded in agreement.
"The final fight between good and evil is coming and it being announced LOUDLY. It’s time for everyone to decide where they want to spend eternity. It’s not a game or a joke. You will be tested."
Other users called attention to what they claim are signs of satanic rituals in the rapper's performance, including flames and a circle on stage.
Some even invoked astrology, strangely declaring the event took place during "Scorpio season", which sounds like the word "corpse."
Others cited numerology, falsely claiming that Scott and fellow performer Drake, who also appeared at the concert, “were born 66 months 6 days apart”.
GEN-Z VULNERABLE TO FRINGE THEORIES
Experts told The Guardian that the viral misinformation illustrates how young social media users are increasingly susceptible to fringe conspiracy theories.
“We have this stereotype of conspiracy theorists being older people on social media, but young people can in some ways be more susceptible,” Jennifer Stromer-Galley, a professor studying social media platforms at Syracuse University, said.
“We know that human brains really like sensational content, and teenage brains even more so because they are still developing,” she added.
Meanwhile, Scott's involvement in the tragedy has come under increasing scrutiny in recent days.
He's been named as a defendant in more than a dozen lawsuits, along with organizers of the event, blaming them for the deaths and injuries of some attendees.
In a statement on Saturday night, the popular rapper wrote that he was "absolutely devastated" by what transpired the night prior.
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The rapper, whose real name is Jacques Bermon Webster II, has also pledged to pay for the victims' funerals and is partnering with online therapy provider BetterHelp to supply one month of free one-on-one therapy for festival attendees.
An investigation into Friday night's tragedy remains active and ongoing.
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