The new ‘27 August’ TikTok trend is confusing users - here’s what it means

(Image: TikTok)(Image: TikTok)
(Image: TikTok)

TikTok - where short dance, lip-sync, comedy and talent videos reign supreme - is a potent breeding ground for trends, challenges and memes.

It seems that every week, something new (and confusing for older internet users not au fait with the workings of the social network) is doing the rounds.

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But the latest is confounding even avid TikTokkers, and revolves around a mysterious date - 27 August.

In recent days, multiple videos have sprung up on the site referencing the date. So what does it all mean?

What does it all mean?

Simply put, the 27 August videos probably don’t mean anything.

Most of the videos are accompanied by creepy soundtracks or visuals, suggesting something sinister could be about to happen at the end of August.

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But in reality, nothing will happen - the 27 August ‘trend’ appears to be a bit of a joke that’s been picked up by TikTok users.

One of the first videos to really get noticed (it looks as if others had come before, but this was the first one that really went ‘viral’) came from user stfusamantha.

Despite the video itself explaining that anyone who sees it has been "chosen" and should remember 27 August, in the clip’s comment section stfusamantha reveals she just wanted to make “a weird video”.

"The fact that people actually think I know what’s going to happen in a month is ridiculous,” she says.

"Come on now y’all.”

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What will happen on 27 August?

But, as is often the way on TikTok, what started as a joke has blossomed into a sensation in its own right, and now multiple users are posting clips claiming to know the secret of the mysterious date.

Some have even gone so far as to promise their own special events and prize giveaways, essentially giving some meaning to a date that originally had none. The date could even become a kind of ‘TikTok holiday’ of sorts.

How is it linked to Donald Trump?

The New York Times’ Taylor Lorenz clarifies that the whole thing “started as a joke”, but became a trend “because mysterious stuff goes viral”, and now, users are scrambling to attach their own meaning to it.

One fan theory suggests the 27 August trend could be a subtle call to arms for protestors looking to disrupt President Trump’s re-election campaign.