How are traffickers using TikTok?

Traffickers are exploiting social media platforms like TikTok to target vulnerable individuals. According to Jordan Harbinger's discussion with Remi Adeleke, these traffickers use TikTok to identify and approach potential victims, often by searching hashtags and monitoring posts for individuals expressing health issues or other vulnerabilities. Once contact is made, traffickers present seemingly legitimate offers, such as promising organ transplants, to lure victims into dangerous and illegal situations 1.

On another note, in a conversation with Amanda Catarzi, Harbinger discussed the pervasive and complicated nature of human trafficking, highlighting how traffickers exploit various social media platforms, including TikTok, to over-sexualize children and manipulate them into trafficking situations 2. This misuse of technology is exacerbated by the over-sexualization and targeting of younger teens and preteens, creating a horrific environment that doesn't seem to be improving in the near future 3.