epocrates
Social media challenge leaves North Carolina teen with burns on 75% of his body
Austin, TX (epocrates) — Mason Dark, a 16-year-old North Carolina boy is recovering from severe burns covering 75% of his body following reports that he engaged in an 'aerosol-turned-flame thrower' challenge. Dark and his friends were reportedly creating a makeshift torch with a spray paint can and a lighter that triggered a fire explosion, consuming the teenagers in flames. Dark jumped into a river to extinguish the flames, but he'd already sustained severe burns. Dark's mother told WRAL that he is now "unrecognizable."
The teenager, an avid football player, is set to be in the burn unit for six months and has already undergone the first of what's expected to be many surgeries.
Numerous news outlets originally attributed the teenager's severe burns to a supposedly viral TikTok challenge, prompting widespread coverage suggesting the app was driving dangerous behavior. But, there's little evidence to suggest that such a challenge was widespread on the TikTok social media app, according to Insider.
TikTok's website, last updated March 2023, says: "Youth safety is our priority. We do not allow content that may put young people at risk of exploitation, or psychological, physical, or developmental harm. This includes child sexual abuse material (CSAM), youth abuse, bullying, dangerous activities and challenges, exposure to overtly mature themes, and consumption of alcohol, tobacco, drugs, or regulated substances. If we become aware of youth exploitation on our platform, we will ban the account, as well as any other accounts belonging to the person."
Sources:
Zitser, Joshua. (2023, May 2). Flamethrower 'challenge' blamed for teen's horrific burns does not actually appear to be widespread on TikTok. Insider. https://www.insider.com/tiktok-trend-blamed-for-teens-horrific-burns-not-actually-widespread-2023-5
Dawson, Bethany. (2023, April 29). TikTok challenge leaves leaves teenager with 75% burns to his body. Insider. https://www.insider.com/tiktok-challenge-leaves-n-carolina-teenager-with-75-burns-to-his-body-2023-4
Youth Safety and Well Being. TikTok. (2023, March). https://www.tiktok.com/community-guidelines/en/youth-safety/