Normally when someone tells you not to do something, it makes you want to do that thing even more, variations of the phrase “don’t search Neon Brown” have been appearing on TikTok, almost daring people to do the opposite, but what exactly is it?
TikTok’s policies and content monitoring system do a pretty good job at keeping unsavory videos from making their way onto the platform. For the most part you’re safe on the app to scroll away without a care in the world. But occasionally things slip through the cracks, videos containing gore or NSFW content can crop up from time to time, although rarely for long.
This problem isn’t unique to TikTok, social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook and YouTube have put measures in place to restrict this kind of content from making its way to the general audience, but there are always ways around these systems. So if you want to know what this latest trend is without potentially scarring yourself you’ve come to the right place.
What is Neon Brown?
There are some fun trends on TikTok, this isn’t one of them. Neon.brown1 was an account on the platform that was somehow able to bypass TikTok’s content filters and post NSFW content. I say ‘was’ because the user last long before their content was caught by the system and they were banned. However, by that point it had already been seen by thousands of innocent eyes.
On Dece. 10th Neon Brown began posting inappropriate material that ranged from the Wood sitting on a Bed meme to deepfaked photos of Bella Poarch and Jenna Ortega. It’s not clear what other kind of NSFW content Neon Brown posted now that the videos are gone.
Trying to find the answers on TikTok is no good because every response and comment seems allergic to giving context or explanations of any kind. Obviously, the videos were bad enough for TikTok remove all evidence relating to the term ‘Neon Brown’ from the platform.
If you look up that phrase now, you’ll be met with a blank page and a short explanation: ‘The phrase may be associated with behavior or content that violates our guidelines.’ Even the videos that talk about the account have been somewhat buried. Neon Brown has been airbrushed from existence harder than Nikolai Yezhov.
However, the account’s legacy lives on, this is the internet after all, nothing can ever truly be erased in the 21st century. Copycats have already tried to ride on the coattails of the original by setting up new accounts with the name spelt slightly differently. But most of what Neon Brown posted seems to be gone forever.
So don’t worry, there’s little chance you’ll see anything from them now as it seems they’ve had their account obliterated. But content like this does find its way to TikTok from time to time and if you go looking you will eventually find NSFW videos, so you have been warned.