Thomas Germain

So...

Here's the idea.

There's a hidden part of the TikTok algorithm that it won't show you normally.

These videos that aren't coming up in people's feeds organically.

And what people are saying is, if you want to see this stuff, you have to find your way to it with more intentionality.

You have to seek it out.

And apparently, the best way to get there

is people will comment like a string of random letters and numbers, like this like secret code word.

And you put that into the search bar and it brings up this hidden genre of videos that I think is simultaneously, like this stuff is kind of...

horrifying and scary and uncanny, but also the story and what's happening around it, I think is one of the most positive things I've seen on the internet in a while.

And it's people kind of taking control of social media to use it for their own community building and self-expression.

Yeah, it's brilliant.

Yeah, in a way that goes beyond what the app is designed for.

And I found out about this from a freelance reporter and self-described meme researcher.

His name is Aiden Walker.

And I got him on the phone to talk about what's going on here and what this says about the state of the internet.

So my first question for him is simple.

Can you describe some of this stuff?

Like you say brain rot, like for people who aren't on TikTok, what are we looking at?

And also like horror, like are there some examples you can think of?