Main content

TikTok Begging in Syria

BBC News investigates a new trend on TikTok: hundreds of families in refugee camps in Syria, begging for gifts on TikTok livestreams.

BBC News investigates a new trend on TikTok: hundreds of families in refugee camps in Syria, begging for gifts on TikTok livestreams. Young children go live for hours at a time, asking for help in the form of TikTok gifts with real cash value. But, as reporter Hannah Gelbart finds out, the phones and TikTok accounts they're using don't belong to them. A network of middlemen, from China to the Middle East, is pressuring these vulnerable families to go live - and up to 70% of the gifts given, go straight into TikTok's pockets.

23 minutes

Last on

Boxing Day 2022 22:30GMT

Broadcasts

  • Sat 15 Oct 2022 01:30GMT
  • Sat 15 Oct 2022 08:30GMT
  • Sun 16 Oct 2022 07:30GMT
  • Sun 16 Oct 2022 14:30GMT
  • Sun 16 Oct 2022 20:30GMT
  • Sun 16 Oct 2022 22:30GMT
  • Mon 17 Oct 2022 02:30GMT
  • Mon 28 Nov 2022 03:30GMT
  • Boxing Day 2022 07:30GMT
  • Boxing Day 2022 16:30GMT
  • Boxing Day 2022 22:30GMT