Twitter is just one of many major social media platforms to take serious measures in recent months to curb the internet’s QAnon movement. QAnon is a conspiracy theory that spun into a loose movement of people who believe that there is a “deep state” mechanism out to get President Trump. They’re not necessarily organized, but QAnon “believers” are known to swarm social media users expressing dissenting viewpoints with online harassment and doxxing. Recently, QAnon has gotten into the business of propagating COVID-19 conspiracy theories.

On Sunday, Trump retweeted a post shared by someone by the name of Mel Q, a reference to QAnon. The tweet cited a Facebook post claiming that the CDC “privately updated the Covid numbers to admit that only 6% of all the 153,504 deaths actually died of Covid,” and that the numbers were inflated by including elderly people and people who died of other conditions. The post has since been banned from Twitter for violating its misinformation policies. But it was also part of a much larger QAnon Twitter storm committed to downplaying the actual number of coronavirus deaths, and there are numerous other posts that have not been taken down.

CORONA Offline

2 year delta

Aug 30#CoronaDidntKillIItself #COVID19 https://t.co/8Af5m6gkAA pic.twitter.com/BVikYk2cJc

— re5iQaM (@re5iQam) August 30, 2020

CBS News reports that the post is a misinterpretation of the CDC’s provisional death count update from August 26, which mentions comorbidities or “health conditions and contributing causes mentioned in conjunction with deaths involving coronavirus disease.” The update noted that for 6% of the deaths, coronavirus was the only cause mentioned. For the other 94%, there were other conditions or factors at play, but the deaths are still coronavirus deaths.

In its recent sweep of QAnon content, Twitter added a “platform manipulation” clause to its usage rules that specifically prohibits behavior that undermines the authenticity of the platform. Additionally, Twitter has beefed up its rules to curtail dangerous COVID-19 misinformation, of which this is an especially egregious example. Twitter’s main focus has been to root out QAnon believers who abuse the platform, but their conspiracy theories are everywhere, and the best way to stop them is to not believe everything you read on the internet. 

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The pandemic has put parents in a position nobody could have prepared them for. To recap: Many parents struggle to balance work and childcare, but when we say many, you likely pictured many mothers. Businesses are forging ahead in their pursuit of the new normal, but schools and childcare remain a major question mark. Placing the burden on mothers — who are historically responsible for the lion’s share of childcare work — to manage homeschool and improvise summer camp during their remote workdays.

To make things worse, a recent survey conducted by Qualtrics and theBoardlist found that over 30% of fathers have been promoted since working from home, compared to just 9% of mothers. In fact, the survey also found that overall, men expect that working from home for a long time could have a positive effect on their careers, while twice as many women think it would have a negative impact.

It’s a perfect storm, without childcare to mitigate this imbalance, women are more often tasked with looking after their kids during the workday, while dads enjoy peaceful and more productive workdays that, in turn, lead to better performance at work. What’s more, women are increasingly abandoning their careers, forever impacting their earning potential, just to make things work at home.

According to a recent New York Times article, many women hit pause or were able to step away from work during the summer, banking on the return of school in the fall. But since kids are swapping masks at school, they’re suddenly pressed to find out how a single person can be a full-time parent while working a full-time job. 

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It is truly the worst time to graduate. For one, any plan of having a Booksmart-inspired summer bash before leaving for college is shot, and so are the freshman year parties. For college graduates, the post-grad summer of soul-searching will happen from wherever they call home — no international travel or melancholic summer parties. And then there’s the tug and pull of whether or not campuses will open up, and if those that don’t will plan to reduce tuition or reimburse students for room and board. For those that have chosen to re-open, things are already off to a chaotic start. 

In response to the mess that is starting college or graduating in the middle of a pandemic, many students are deferring, taking gap years, or pivoting altogether. Reddit chatter about deferring college has tripled since the onset of the pandemic. This year, 20% of Harvard University’s incoming class deferred. And in the age of TikTok and “OK Boomer,” it’s led some to the world of Gen Z consulting.

Gen Z consulting (or youth culture consulting or generational consulting) isn’t new, but some may think it’s just a trendy e-boy or e-girl hired to make brands look and feel younger simply by sharing their cool teen air and telling them about TikTok. But Maddie Bregman, the 21-year-old founder of a female-leaning Gen Z consulting agency, GirlZ, says it’s not like that at all. She tells Refinery29, “It’s a lot of hard work and, for me, it’s been a lot of hours of sending emails and following up with people and being persistent and patient and I think that the work itself is definitely fun but by no means is it this glamorous thing.”

Bregman says she’s seen an uptick in cold emails from high school and college graduates looking to get into Gen Z consulting, adding that now that it’s a more mainstream job, an increasing number of young people are looking into it in their time of need. “This is the most entrepreneurial generation the world has ever seen and people are getting more creative with what we’re looking to do, how we make money, and not wanting to work a traditional job.”

“Unfortunately, due to COVID happening, a lot of peoples’ offers got rescinded, a lot of people were thinking about taking a gap year because a lot of schools aren’t being very good about room and board,” says Maia Ervin, chief of staff at JUV Consulting. JUV is the biggest and most popular Gen Z consulting agency — it’s entirely run by people under 24 and it’s worked with brands like VSCO and Jansport. According to Ervin, the company got twice as many applicants this summer. “The interest was very high and I hate the fact that it was very high due to the pandemic.”

So, what kind of work is Gen Z consulting, actually? Ervin admits, “We get a lot of TikTok inquiries.” But mostly, JUV places consultants with brands, companies, and teams looking to understand Gen Z. They want insight into the data collected about young people, they want to know how to use certain social media platforms, and they want more information about Gen Z’s interests. Sandra Salvaterra, 20, works on JUV’s creative team and while her days have been full of meetings and emails, she feels confident she’s doing more than just giving big companies the tools they need to squeeze money out of her generational peers: “Not only do we want people to understand us, we want them to understand us so they can empower us, so they aren’t just using us as a marketing ploy or just another target audience. We’re people, at the end of the day, and people deserve to be understood.”

Part of the appeal for applicants is that Gen Z consulting is a good way to build a resume, because it’s an experience that’s likely to translate to a lot of different fields. It’s a great starting off point for someone taking a gap year or skipping college that wants to eventually become an entrepreneur or pursue any kind of creative career.

If there’s such a thing as a Gen Z consulting veteran, Connor Blakley is it: He started a Gen Z consulting agency, YouthLogic, when he was just 15 and says it’s a suitable career path for young people looking to become entrepreneurs. He’s gotten a lot of cold emails from people asking him about his work, especially now that COVID-19 has disrupted both the school year and post-graduate hiring cycle.

But Blakley warns against thinking the job is all glamour and boardrooms: “They definitely think you literally show up and just answer simple questions about your generation.” He says good Gen Z consulting is all about fighting stereotypes, starting with the stereotypes people have about youth in general. “Then they actually talk to me and realize there is so much more and realize that I’m actually smart.”

With TikTok under a magnifying glass and so many young leaders at the forefront of the fights against police brutality and climate change, plus with much-publicized virtual classes and canceled graduations, 2020 might just be Gen Z’s most visible year. But it’s also Gen Z’s most financially trying year. In that light, Gen Z consulting offers itself as a weird, unlikely helping hand that trades on the capital of youth. But most importantly, Gen Z consulting puts young people in the same room with leaders and executives — people who have the power to make big, necessary changes. It will give today’s youth a chance to see if the elders responsible for so many of today’s messes are willing to listen. 

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TikTok is fighting back.

Ever since TikTok’s Chinese origins became common knowledge, claims (both founded and unfounded) that the app is a vehicle for Chinese government surveillance haven’t taken a rest. It gave President Trump — the man who coined the term “China flu” — an occasion to undermine China and liberal teens in one fell swoop. When the app was first banned, TikTok was given 30 days to sell to a U.S.-based company with Trump demanding that a cut of the sale go into the pockets of the U.S. government. Then, the 30-day deadline became a 45-day deadline.

In that time, TikTok has fought hard to save the youth’s favorite app, announcing its $100 million creator fund, turning that into a $2 billion fund, and creating 10,000 jobs. Now, TikTok is suing the Trump administration for attempting a ban.

In a statement published to its website, TikTok explained, “We do not take suing the government lightly, however, we feel we have no choice but to take action to protect our rights and the rights of our community and employees.” TikTok claims that by banning the app with no notice, the administration is violating the Fifth Amendment, which guarantees the right to due process.

TikTok is arguing that the Administration is stripping TikTok’s users of their rights with no evidence that the platform presents any real risk to national security. It also claims the administration ignored the company’s exhaustive efforts to prove it poses no significant threat to national security. In other words, TikTok says it’s done everything it can to work with the government to prove it’s a safe platform, but the administration doesn’t care. In fact, according to TikTok, some of the cited national security concerns are sourced from “outdated news articles.”

TikTok didn’t just roll up to the U.S. — it landed on our phones after its parent company bought Musical.ly. For a transaction of that size, a lot of paperwork had to be run through the U.S. government, including detailed descriptions of TikTok’s security practices.

So, what comes next? Today, TikTok filed a complaint against the Trump administration in federal court. As many experts have said, TikTok doesn’t seem to present any obviously exceptional or significant national security threat. But what does seem obvious, is how political this all is. Never has TikTok’s Chinese ownership been such a big deal.

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After laying virtually dormant since its creation in 2015, Triller remerged from relative obscurity when talks of a TikTok ban started making headlines. In late July, TikTok stars best-known for belonging to Sway House announced they were migrating over to Triller. That same week, Triller sued TikTok for copyright infringement. Soon after, it pushed TikTok out of the top position in the App Store’s top ten list. So it almost makes sense that President Donald Trump, TikTok’s top antagonist, joined Triller over the weekend.

On Saturday, it was announced that Trump is extending the 45-day deadline he initially gave Bytedance to sell TikTok to a U.S.-based company. TikTok now has 90 days. But that didn’t stop the Trump campaign from joining the competitor. So far, the president’s verified account only has about 13,000 followers and four Trillers, the most popular of which has nearly ten million views. 

It goes a little like this: Sizzle reel of the Commander in Chief saying “I’m a professional at technology” with a banner urging viewers to text TRUMP to 88022, while Triller-branded graphics and squiggly lines zoom over footage of Trump. It’s kind of a cross between a Matthew McConaughey whiskey ad and a Matthew McConaughey car commercial, only the big block letters in this video are telling you to “Follow @DonaldJTrump on Triller.”

donaldjtrump * #trillerlife * Triller – Your life in video

I’M NOW ON TRILLER! 🇺🇸 #MAGA #KAG #Trump2020 #VoteRed

It’s worth noting that Triller has long centered and been dominated by Black artists and creators. Currently, the app’s landing page has a #BLM highlight. Yet, this is where Trump seeks to build his short-form video platform.

TikTok has long been a sparring grounds for liberal teens and Trump-supporting youths to duke it out — from dramatized videos about Christian persecution set to Kesha’s Take It Off to bouncy young women barking out “facts” and serving the “libs.” But if the Sway House boys’ departure can teach us anything, it’s that those who feel unwelcome on TikTok now have options. Long-term, however, this might signal a new normal where opposing ideologies don’t just live in different spheres within a platform, but can now grow and operate on entirely separate platforms.

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Never before — at least in our memory — has the word “house” carried so much meaning. At the dawn of the pandemic earlier in the year, we struggled to box in our lives and wondered if it was possible for a whole society to spend life at home. As the pandemic exacerbated our society’s failures, mortgage payments are suffering, people are demanding rent cancellation, and the houseless community is becoming more vulnerable than ever.

And then there’s skinny house — the viral TikTok phenomenon that rose and fell in popularity in a matter of days. Located in Deerfield, Illinois, “Skinny House” was so-dubbed on TikTok — not for fitting into a size 2, not for being the hottest and meanest girl in school — but for looking like a long thin slice of a house.

@eli.korn_

SKINNY HOUSE SKINNY HOUSE SKINNY HOUSE ##fyp ##100gecs ##geccing ##skinny ##skinnyhouse ##architecture

♬ I Need Help Immediately – 100 gecs & Laura Les & Dylan Brady

It first went viral last week when TikTok user @eli.korn_ shared footage of himself roaming the house grounds, confirming that it’s not an optical illusion, it really is a skinny house. More specifically, this triangle-ish-shaped house is only 3 feet deep at its narrowest point and 20 feet at its widest. It has two bedrooms, a finished basement, and all the windows are on one side. Before TikTok dubbed it the “Skinny House,” it was known as the “Pie House.”

The house went up for sale in mid-June, according to local broadcasters. It was listed on Zillow for about $260,000 and sold in early August.

The two-bedroom house is thus shaped because it was built on a triangular lot and the original owner wanted to maximize the space. As with any viral TikTok trend, the house broke through the mainstream once people on Twitter began to gawk at the house’s weird proportions, prompting us to only imagine what it would be like to live in one through quarantine.

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Triller is not playing games. In late July, TikTok’s infamous Sway House announced its new partnership with short-form video platform, Triller. That same week, Triller served TikTok with a shocking copyright infringement lawsuit, while the country’s big names in tech offered themselves to Congress’s antitrust hearings. Let it be known that Triller is dead serious.

Most recently, Triller toppled TikTok as the number one app across all categories in the App Store. In a Sunday press release, Triller celebrated this as a win over TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat. More shocking still, is how Byte — one of Vine’s co-creators’ answer to TikTok — is snugly ranked as second in the App Store’s free app list.

This story was originally published on July 30, 2020.

When shelter-in-place orders marked the beginning of our “new normal,” our online behavior began to shift with the times. Most notably, TikTok boomed like never before. After two years of steady rise, the Chinese-owned platform broke through the two-billion download mark in the first quarter of 2020, bringing millennials and boomers into a previously Gen Z-dominated space. More eyes led to more scrutiny, and everyone from popular TikTokers to the platform’s own country of origin has come under increased fire.

On Tuesday, four of TikTok’s most-popular creators announced that they’re leaving the platform, citing security and privacy concerns, according to the Los Angeles Times. Josh Richards, Griffin Johnson, Noah Beck, and Anthony Reeves — of Sway House fame — are leaving TikTok and encouraging their combined following of nearly 50 million to join them on Triller, a competing short-form video app.

@joshrichards

This took us 50 try’s to get on sync and griff to hit the photo @imgriffinjohnson @noahbeck

♬ HATCHBACK BLADEZ – kyleyoumadethat

Not only are they leaving TikTok for Triller, but they’re now on Triller’s payroll: Josh Richards, who has 251,800 followers on Triller, will now act as chief strategy officer. Noah Beck, Griffin Johnson, and Anthony Reeves signed on as investors and equity shareholders, according to the Times. 

Triller was first introduced in 2015 as a “game-changing music video maker app.” You can record yourself lip-synching or performing a song, then utilize the app’s “editing algorithm that uses intelligent audio and facial analysis to decide when to cut.” In other words, you perform and the app edits your video for you. At first, users were encouraged to share their final product on social media, but a year in, the app added follow buttons and explore pages to turn the editing app into a social platform. Refinery29 reached out to Triller for comment and will update this story if we hear back.

View this post on Instagram

Not @imgriffinjohnson saying tiktok is spying on us 😀

A post shared by Tiktokroom 2.0 (@tikltokroom) on Jul 28, 2020 at 9:49pm PDT

In the race to de-throne TikTok, competitors like Byte and Facebook’s Reels have all been known to lure former Vine stars or popular TikTok creators to their platforms via financial incentives — this Triller news is probably the first of a series of similar announcements.

Richards, Johnson, and Beck all shared videos of themselves together wearing matching Triller shirts, announcing the transition on both their Trillers and TikToks, and the three are prominently featured on Triller’s popular user section. Antony Reeves is in a relationship with Avani Gregg, a TikTok star in her own right. Since the two frequently make videos together, is an Avani presence on Triller inevitable?

It should be noted, however, that this TikTok exodus also marks a turning point in Sway House’s troubled history. Sway House consists of a revolving door of creators 18 to 21 years old. This summer, two of its members were arrested, resulting in a barrage of doxing and harassment on Sway House members. Reeves had to ask fans to chill out and Richards went on hiatus. Then the Sway House and Hype House drama exploded earlier this month because two teenagers kissed. Through it all, Sway House members have generally been cast as the antagonists that stoke the flames and have been met with consistent hate and harassment. All of this to say, that despite their popularity, their presence on TikTok has certainly soured over the last few months. Nevertheless, they all have continued to post to TikTok after announcing their Triller deal.

@imgriffinjohnson

Reply to @officialkaylaowens this is a really educated comment and makes you look like a great person 🤠 keep doing great work, kayla!

♬ Be Happy – Dixie D’Amelio

There are videos on TikTok from as early as 2018 — the year TikTok was introduced to the U.S. via Musical.ly — where creators share their Triller videos. At the time, this might’ve signaled the kind of cross-pollination that made Instagram popular on Facebook and made Musical.ly popular thanks to Vine. In any case, the fact that Triller’s visibility is largely catapulted by TikTok stars is just a testament to TikTok’s place in our culture.

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Twitter is banning thousands of accounts linked to QAnon content for violating the platform’s terms and conditions, specifically its rules against targeted harassment.

QAnon started as a conspiracy theory but has since grown into a loose collective of alt-right extremists committed to defending the Trump administration from a “deep state” plot to depose him. The name pays homage to the 4chan anonymous imageboard where an individual claimed Hilary Clinton would be arrested (among other conspiracy theories involving a “deep state”). Followers began calling this user Q. QAnon is not a formal group or collective, but self-described “believers” that routinely push conspiracy theories surrounding every major news event over the last three years, from mass shootings to the pandemic.

On Tuesday, the platform tweeted from its verified Twitter Safety account: “We’ve been clear that we will take strong enforcement action on behavior that has the potential to lead to offline harm. In line with this approach, this week we are taking further action on so-called ‘QAnon’ activity across the service.”

We’ve been clear that we will take strong enforcement action on behavior that has the potential to lead to offline harm. In line with this approach, this week we are taking further action on so-called ‘QAnon’ activity across the service.

— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) July 22, 2020

In recent weeks, Twitter shut down over 7,000 accounts known to regularly boost QAnon content and an additional 150,000 accounts will be affected. In a thread, Twitter explained that accounts will be suspended if they are found to be in violation of Twitter’s multi-account policy and coordinating harassment. Accounts associated with QAnon will no longer be featured in Trending pages, searches, or Conversations. Additionally, URLs associated with QAnon will be blocked from being shared on the platform. The New York Times reported that Facebook is preparing to implement similar policies to curtail the spread of QAnon content.

According to a CNN story from earlier this month, “Anyone can create a conspiracy, offer evidence to support it, and tag it with QAnon hashtags to spread it. But no one is held responsible for the trail of chaos and disinformation it leaves behind.”

QAnon believers are known to “swarm” individuals they consider enemies, by coordinating relentless harassment campaigns. A Twitter spokesperson told NBC News a recent spike in such campaigns over the last few weeks prompted the crackdown. Refinery29 has reached out to Twitter for additional information, and we’ll update this story as we learn more.

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After a much-criticized reopening in mid-July that was followed by a record spike in COVID-19 cases, Orlando, Florida’s Disney World remains open. The park is now working out ways to stay open for business while keeping visitors, workers, and the larger community safe amid a roaring pandemic.

Currently, all four Walt Disney World theme parks are open and so are some hotels, with limited capacity and added measures. The park’s website recently updates its mask policy: “You may remove your face covering while actively eating or drinking, but you should be stationary and maintain appropriate physical distancing.” Eating and walking are no longer allowed.

If you’ve recently flown Delta or Virgin Airlines, you’ve likely come across alcohol or food and beverage bans that aim to reduce the number of occasions passengers remove their masks. Disney World is now taking similar measures with this new eating and walking ban.

Yet so much of the Disney World experience is about seeing and doing as much as you can, with so many of the available and popular foods — like turkey legs — sold ideal for consuming while exploring. It raises concerns over the practicality and sustainability of such a practice — people likely envision their day at Disney World consisting of walking around and tasting all the delights the park has to offer, not alternating between the two activities. If people are committed to traveling to an amusement park at the height of a pandemic, a ban on eating while walking can only be so effective. 

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It would be unwise to take any of President Trump’s statements at face value for a number of reasons. But it would also be negligent to deny their power by not taking them seriously. He is the president, after all, and he’s executed way more harmful and outrageous bans than the recent TikTok ban he’s been contemplating.

On Wednesday, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told reporters that the White House is still thinking about banning TikTok in America and that a decision will be made soon. He told reporters that there isn’t “any self-imposed deadline for action,” but that he thinks “we are looking at weeks, not months.” 

Talk of a TikTok ban was originally sparked earlier this month when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US was considering restricting the video-based social network, which is headquartered in China. Soon after, Trump confirmed that a TikTok ban was being discussed as “one of many” ways to retaliate against China over coronavirus: “Look, what happened with China with this virus, what they’ve done to this country and to the entire world is disgraceful.”

The ban in question would include not just TikTok, but all Chinese social media apps. And while a ban of this kind would be a first in the US, it’s not without its precedents. For two years, Trump has been campaigning to not just ban the products made by China’s Huawei (a telecommunications equipment company), but to upend every part of its business, in what looks like a trade war masquerading as a national security concern.

Beyond these statements, little else has been said regarding the potential TikTok ban. But whatever the decision – to ban, not to ban, to impose restrictions or not – Meadows expects it to be made soon. Whatever it may be, it will take a lot to convince Apple and Google to forfeit one of their most popular apps. 

In any case, many of the US-based competitors seem to be gladly taking advantage of the hostility against TikTok to promote their own short-form video platforms: including Instagram’s Reels (coming August), YouTube’s Shorts and the creators of Vine’s Byte. 

Refinery29 has reached out to TikTok for comment and will update this post if we hear back.

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On July 7, the Washington Post reported that, at the time, one in every 100 Floridians was infected by COVID-19, no doubt due to the state’s liberal reopening policies. The latest announcement in Florida’s swift reopening came last week when Orlando’s Disney World announced it would reopen during the weekend. Now, according to the Florida Department of Health’s latest numbers, there are almost 300,000 cases, with about 20,000 hospitalizations.

Once again, Disney claims its spot as one of the top symbols of American excess. On Saturday, the Magic Kingdom and the Animal Kingdom reopened. Hollywood Studios and Epcot will follow on Wednesday. The plan is, supposedly, to ensure safety with temperature checks, mask requirements, 4,000 hand sanitizer stations, regular encouragement for people to wash their hands, and empty seats on rides to encourage social distancing.

But on Sunday, Florida saw the country’s biggest single-day spike of coronavirus cases to date, which makes reopening something as flagrantly non-essential as an amusement park feel tone-deaf, if not downright negligent. And it’s infuriating locals as well as far-away netizens. The tweets speak for themselves.

As is almost tradition, the reopening announcement got the horror movie trailer treatment.

someone said the Disney “reopening” video looks like a horror movie trailer, so I set it to the Us music, and…see for yourself pic.twitter.com/eJ3zi1p9tZ

— “cool zone” sadvil (@sadvil) July 11, 2020

This joke should not be funny, but reopening one of the nation’s biggest amusement parks in the middle of a pandemic has shattered any notion of decency.

Disney Reopening Starter Kit pic.twitter.com/HxQpVF0dxt

— Skrrt Vonnegut (@Bel_Biv_Devos) July 11, 2020

But it would be unfair to blame the spikes on just Disney World. Universal Studios has had open parks since June 5.

why is disney taking the heat for reopening when universal has been open for a MONTH

— jess exotic says WEAR A MASK (@jxssicameyer) July 12, 2020

Disney World reopening while Florida just keeps increasing their coronavirus records like pic.twitter.com/VV7BZyr2dG

— Gamerboy Nave: Campus Band Trombone #BLM (@GamerboyNave) July 12, 2020

Even the horse knows it’s smarter to not be there.

Day 1 of Disney World reopening literally the only 5 guests within vicinity spook a horse… pic.twitter.com/6v7JkCAxgJ

— Kenny (@kenny_bleh) July 12, 2020

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On Friday morning, thousands of iPhone users woke up to find that a lot of their go-to apps were crashing. The affected apps so far include Spotify, Pinterest, TikTok, and Tinder (shoutout to the pre-work Tinder users). Many a morning commute was disrupted, not only by lack of music streaming but also by Waze crashes.

A swarm of disgruntled users took to Twitter to complain. They talked about uninstalling and re-downloading apps in hopes of fixing a problem that would only persist through their efforts. 

Turns out, Facebook is to blame. An update to Facebook’s developer site explained: “Earlier today, a code change triggered crashes for some iOS apps using the Facebook SDK. We identified the issue quickly and resolved it. We apologize for any inconvenience.” In other words, Facebook’s tinkering accidentally triggered these crashes across apps. An SDK is a “software development kit,” which lets app developers embed some of Facebook’s services into their apps, like logins, for example.

It’s likely that if you were one of the many who experienced crashes earlier today, you used Facebook to log into the affected apps. And it’s not the first time this has happened. The Verge reported that nearly the same incident had happened this past May.

The TikTok glitches from yesterday afternoon, followed by this morning’s app crashes have been stirring up some hysteria on social media. The virtual worlds that for the last few months have kept us connected and entertained are being exposed in their precarity, and it’s very nerve-wracking.

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