Embattled TikTok: Behind the dance duels, a platform for youth activism

Alyssa Bigbee, an acrobatics instructor in Philadelphia, downloaded TikTok last December to post videos of her students performing. For her – like its millions of other users – the app was something of an internet playground, filled with endless videos offering 15-second fun. 

But that would soon change. 

During the George Floyd protests at the start of the summer, Ms. Bigbee had noticed countless Americans asking how to be a white ally. She had an answer, so she posted it on TikTok. More than 150,000 people watched it.

“I never thought I would get 10,000 followers from talking about racism,” she says. 

This year, millions of people around the world took to social media for entertainment during lockdowns, helping video platform TikTok become one of 2020’s

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