Tiktok has a new viral trend – an artificial intelligence (AI) tool known as a “chubby filter” takes a photo of a person and edits their appearance to make them look like they should gain weight. However, some social media users have told the BBC that they think it should be banned.
Many people have shared before and after images of themselves joking about how they look differently. At the same time, others say it is a form of “body-shaming” (from the English language, covering the appearance of the body) that cannot be allowed.
Experts also warn that the filter could foster a “toxic food culture” and contribute to eating disorders.
Ticktock did not respond to a request for comment.
Sitey, who has 66,000 followers on Tiktok, is among those calling for the filter to be banned.
“It feels like girls are saying, ‘Oh, I’m lucky to be thin, but being fat is probably the worst thing that could happen,'” said the 29-year-old from Bristol.
She says she has spoken to women who have deleted Tiktok from her phones because the trend made them feel bad about themselves.
“I don’t think people should be ridiculed for their bodies just because they open the app,” she says.
Dr Emma Beckett, a scientist for nutrition, told the BBC she thinks the trend is “a big step backwards”.
“It’s the same old false stereotypes that big people are lazy and imperfect, which should be desperately avoided,” she says.
It warns that it can have a widespread social impact.
“Fear of weight gain contributes to eating disorders and body dissatisfaction, it feeds into a culture of toxic eating and causes people to be unhealthy with food and exercise. It opens the door to fraud and trendy diets,” Beckett said.
“And it forces everyone to conform to narrow standards of beauty and health and not seek out what’s best for their own bodies. It’s detrimental to everyone’s physical and mental health,” she adds.
Bee -by -Sea spoke to several Tiktok users who told them they were uncomfortable using the filter.
Nina, who lives in North Wales, says it lives a popular “narrative” that links people’s appearance to their self-esteem.
“It’s a toxic view that seemed destined to be left behind,” she says.
“If a filter is clearly offensive, it should be removed,” says Nina.
Emma, who lives in the air, agrees with her.
“My first thought when I saw the ‘puffy filter’ was how harmful it could be,” she says.
“People basically said they looked disgusting because they were” puffy ” and I’m like a woman with a lush shape that actually looks like their pictures” after “with this filter, it was upsetting,” Emma explains.
Nina says he’s glad to see people criticising this “immoral and insensitive” trend.
“We should be supporting each other, not shaming each other for the appearance of our bodies,” she says.
Constant agrees that it can’t be allowed.
“Perhaps the filter should include a warning,” she says.
“If there are bodybuilding topics or eating disorders or whatever, I think there should be a way to flag it. If people want to post it, they can do that, but it doesn’t cross over to a wider audience,” Sayde said.
Filtering testing
Filters that use artificial intelligence to change a person’s appearance are very common at Tiktok.
Many are harmless – for example, one popular trend gives the impression that a person was made with LEGO.
They are often developed by people who don’t have Tiktok – as seems to be the case with the new “chubby filter”.
Some of the most popular videos using this filter have tens of thousands of likes.