Farmers warn Tik Tok stunts on machinery could kill people

Frustrated farmers fear someone could be killed if a dangerous new Tik Tok trend continues - and workers caught in the act will be “fired on the spot”.

Frustrated farmers say someone could be killed if a dangerous new social media trend continues.

The Weekly Times has seen five videos, filmed in both Australia and the United States, posted to Tik Tok in recent weeks showing people performing dangerous stunts on harvest machinery.

Farmers are calling on the social media giant to take the videos down, and are warning staff they will be fired on the spot if they are caught acting dangerously at work.

South Australian mixed grain farmer Tarren “Biz” Minhard said he reported one of the videos to Tik Tok for dangerous behaviour, but was told the video did not breach the platform’s community standards.

“I got really upset when I saw the video. I actually got pretty emotional. The guy just had no regard for his own safety, and what dumbfounded me was that his wife was recording him thinking it was hilarious.”

Mr Minhard was so affected by the video, and Tik Tok’s refusal to take it down, he had to take time away from social media.

“Tik Tok admin probably don’t realise how dangerous this (behaviour) is,” he said.

“One small slip, you fall off and you’re gone,” he said.

@therealbiztang sharing a farm safety message this morning.

There's some seriously dangerous behaviour happening & being filmed on farm during harvest, so please chat with your employees, your children, your contractors. It may save a life. #FarmSafetyFirst. pic.twitter.com/sxlUjSy4rR

— 🐞Farmer Renée tweeting 50% typos 🌿🌾 (@cottonfarmgirl) November 7, 2021

Tik Tok’s community guidelines prohibit sharing videos of suicide, self-harm and dangerous acts, but the company appeared not to recognise the riskiness of the behaviour depicted in the videos when Mr Minhard reported it.

The video reported by Mr Minhard showed a man jumping up and down on the front of a header, attempting to dislodge something while the machine was running.

In a response to Mr Minhard’s report, Tik Tok said: “We found that (the user’s) video doesn’t violate our community guidelines. We understand that you may not want to see this type of content, so we’ll show you fewer videos like this.”

The Weekly Times contacted Tik Tok for comment, but did not receive a response by deadline.

In another video, which has since been taken down by the person who posted it, a young man filmed himself eating lunch on the roof of a header while it is harvesting, his legs dangling off the front of the cab.

In two others, young women film themselves hanging off the side of tractors while the tractors move through paddocks.

In a fifth video, a young man sorts lentils, pulled by a tractor driving itself.

“If you have an accident, and you happen to die, people will forget about you. Do you really want to risk your life to try and become famous on social media?” Mr Minhard asked.

It wasn’t just Mr Minhard who was concerned after seeing the videos appear on social media in recent weeks.

Warakirri cropping southern regional manager John Stevenson said risky behaviour at work was “just not on”.

“They really are risking their lives,” he said. If the header the young man was sitting on the roof of had hit something or been thrown out of gear “he would have been gone in a heartbeat”, Mr Stevenson said.

Any employee of his caught doing something unsafe at work would be “fired on the spot”, he said.

“It comes down to liability and responsibility from us as employers. There just has to be a change in mindset.”

I've seen 6 of them this week John, all filming from the roof of the header. I was going to do a post too, I'm pleased you have. Farmers need to be chatting to their contractors & header operators.#Farmsafetyfirst

— 🐞Farmer Renée tweeting 50% typos 🌿🌾 (@cottonfarmgirl) November 7, 2021