The boring two words banned on TikTok for terrifying reason

"You'd 100% innocently search it online with your kids."

So, I'm going to be called a 'boomer' for not knowing this (FYI I'm three years off being a millennial) but in my defence, I've worked in the area of online parenting content for a decade and I'd never heard of this sickening trend.

I worked out pretty quickly why.

There I was scrolling TikTok one night when I came across an ad for a shirt with what looked like blue whales on it. It reminded me how much I love blue whales, so naturally I searched 'blue whales' in the search bar, expecting clips of the majestic beast to pop up.

But they didn't. What I saw instead broke my heart. 

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"Your safety matters"

I kept searching 'blue whale' and getting a strange result.

The screen read: "Your safety matters.  Some inline challenges can be dangerous, disturbing or even fabricated. Learn how to recognise harmful challenges so you can protect your health and well-bring."

And then... at the bottom of the screen, there was a button link to Lifeline.

I was shocked and confused that this was the result for search term 'Blue whale.' Naturally, I went straight to Google to find out the story.

The shirt that lead me to the blue whale search on TikTok. Image: TikTok

The Blue Whale suicide challenge

It turns out that the 'Blue Whale suicide challenge' began in Russia in 2016.

It set a series of challenges... the last one being the 'challenge' to self-harm or take your life. 

The trend was closely linked with the name Jonathan Galindo, a man that may also be seen with his face painted like Mickey Mouse or a dog.

The game is heavily linked with the name Jonathan Galindo, a man that may also be seen with his face painted like Mickey Mouse or a dog. Image: Northhamptonshire Police

Blue whale is a legitimate term we could be searching for school

The 'challenge' was linked to a number of deaths, which alarmed authorities. Since then, deaths linked to the 'game' have also been found in Ukraine, India and the United States.

Most recently, in 2023, a 35-year-old victim was allegedly attacked. A 26-year-old man handed himself in to Portuguese authorities and reportedly confessed to the crime whilst playing the "Blue Whale game".

As a parent, it was horrifying to learn that such an innocuous term could lead to deaths. Is nothing safe anymore?

I know TikTok is full of dangerous challenges, but it seems that even when a search term about an animal - that I could easily have been looking up with my son when he was doing a junior school project, our kids are not safe.

Luckily, in Australia, the search is now blocked.

But this example proves, yet again, that predators can still find a way to use innocuous terms to harm adults, and even our kids.

Originally published as The boring two words banned on TikTok for terrifying reason