Before the War, This Was the Most Popular TikTok Content in Russia

The Chinese social media company, TikTok, has blocked video uploads and live-streaming services in Russia since Sunday (March 6th).

According to a statement on TikTok's official website, this blocking is done to protect TikTok employees and users from legal threats related to the "fake news" law recently enacted by the Russian government.

Previously, on Friday (March 4th), the Russian government signed a new law stating that those who spread "false information" about the Russian military could face up to 15 years in prison.

The Moscow Times reports that the new law also threatens fines for those who openly call for sanctions against Russia.

According to The New York Times (March 5th), in the past week, TikTok has been widely used by its users to share photos and videos related to the Russia-Ukraine war.

One of the most popular contents was a video uploaded by the account @stopwarhumanrace on Tuesday (March 1st), showing the devastated landscape of a city in Ukraine due to Russian military attacks. This video has been viewed 4.7 million times in a week.

Before the War, Gaming Content Was Most Popular in Russia

Before the Russia-Ukraine war broke out, the most watched TikTok content in Russia was videos categorized as games, culinary, beauty, and technology products.

According to the TikTok What's Next Insight and Trend Report 2022, the most popular content among all was gaming videos with the hashtag #anime, which had been viewed 23.9 billion times during the period of October 2020-October 2021.

Here is a list of the most popular TikTok content hashtags in Russia before the war:

1. #anime: viewed 23.9 billion times
2. #brawlstars: viewed 9.1 billion times
3. #minecraft: viewed 8.7 billion times
4. #naruto: viewed 7.4 billion times
5. #makanan (food): viewed 6.5 billion times
6. #resep (recipe): viewed 3 billion times
7. #manikur (manicure): viewed 2.5 billion times
8. #lezat (delicious): viewed 1.8 billion times
9. #rambut (hair): viewed 1.2 billion times
10. #iPhone: viewed 1.2 billion times
11. #kosmetik (cosmetics): viewed 1 billion times

(Also read: Anti-War Sentiment Grows in Russia, 6,440 Demonstrators Arrested)