TikTok App Listings Flooded With 1-Star Reviews Amid Faizal Siddiqui Controversy

Fans of YouTuber CarryMinati are also leaving 1-star reviews to show their dislike for the platform.

By Tasneem Akolawala | Updated: 19 May 2020 14:33 IST

TikTok App Listings Flooded With 1-Star Reviews Amid Faizal Siddiqui Controversy

TikTok has been in the headlines since CarryMinati’s roast

Highlights

TikTok recent reviews on Google Play are mostly from Indians
#BanTikTokIndia is trending on Twitter
TikTok creater Faizal Siddiqui accused of glorifying acid attacks

TikTok is seeing a flood of 1-star reviews on Apple App Store and Google Play Store after the app recently found itself up against the followers of YouTuber CarryMinati (real name: Ajey Nagar). To make matters worse, the short-form video app got embroiled in a controversy this week when a video from popular TikTok creator Faizal Siddiqui came to light that has been accused of glorifying acid attacks on women. A series of 1-star reviews have been left on the TikTok app listings – bringing the ratings down from 4.5 stars to just 2 stars in a few days on Google Play Store. Furthermore, #banTikTokIndia is also trending on Twitter wherein people are urging users to quit the Chinese social media platform.

TikTok currently has an average two-star rating on Google Play Store, and most of the new ratings listed are one star. These ratings have been mostly left by Indian users calling it a ‘waste app'. Hundreds of users are leaving unfavourable reviews as well. Several users even asked for a total ban of the app in India, if not complete removal from Google Play Store. TikTok still enjoys a 4.8 star rating on App Store as Android is the prominent platform in the country.

YouTube stars roasting TikTok stars and vice versa has been happening for a while. This battle blew up when YouTuber CarryMinati published a video titled ‘YouTube vs TikTok: The End' wherein he roasts TikTok creator Amir Siddiqui. This video amassed millions of views before getting removed from YouTube on claims of ‘violating terms of service'. As is with the extreme fan culture, several fans of CarryMinati took to the app listing of TikTok to give 1-star reviews to show their dislike for the platform and support for YouTube. This has been further enabled by YouTube vs TikTok memes and battle content that is rife on social media platforms.

TikTok Asked to Take Down Faizal Siddiqui Video Accused of ‘Glorifying' Acid Attack

As if CarryMinati fans weren't enough, TikTok found itself in a fresh controversy when a video from Faizal Siddiqui's (brother of Amir Siddiqui) surfaced online. This video has been accused of glorifying acid attacks on women. Faizal Siddiqui has defended the video, claiming it has been misrepresented. The video that has been severely criticised and it has further pushed people to leave 1-star reviews for TikTok on both Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

Notably, TikTok is owned by Bytedance that although incorporated in Cayman Islands is headquartered in Beijing, thus the app is linked to China. TikTok has been trying to shed this Chinese app image for some time as a significant number of its users are based in the US. This Chinese link doesn't help TikTok among various Indian users who often call to ban Chinese goods and services on social media.

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Furthermore, #BanTikTokIndia and #tiktokexposed have been trending on Twitter with videos of TikTok promoting rape and misogyny, among other things.

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