TikTok cashes in as gangs post videos of dangerous crossings
The smugglers offered a 'subscription' service. They paid £5.39 a month through TikTok, which takes a cut of up to 50 per cent.
Migrants subscribed to live video calls with the smuggler. One account had 3,550 followers and another 22,300, so traffickers could be earning thousands of pounds.
The subscription service is a widely used feature for TikTok which makes clear on its website that after app store fees, 'TikTok splits the revenue up to 50/50 with you'.The Mail on Sunday contacted two subscription service users who promoted a new life in Britain on their profile.
One revealed dates of crossings. A clip showed a Border Force vessel beside a small boat heading to Britain.
One person replied: 'I spent eight hours in the sea, it was really hard. Thank goodness we all arrived.'
We asked if the user could get us to Britain and received a love heart emoji in reply.
Another user replied with a thumbs-up emoji when asked if he could arrange a crossing on a boat to Britain
Another user replied with a thumbs-up emoji when asked if he could arrange a crossing on a boat to Britain. Videos posted on his TikTok profile showed him in migrant camps in northern France.
Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch UK, said: 'This is a scandal. TikTok tells us it is doing all it can to stop these videos but now we learn they are profiting from them.'
TikTok confirmed that both accounts had now been closed.
A spokesman said: 'We have zero tolerance for content that promotes human smuggling and will remove accounts that break our rules.
'We work closely with the UK National Crime Agency to help to identify and to combat organised immigration crime online and we respond to evolving threats.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
25 minutes ago
- The Sun
I make a fortune selling my HAIR to random men online – I took my braids out & one bloke sent me £800 just to sniff them
A WOMAN has revealed that she makes hundreds by selling her braids to random men online. Lateisha Jones, 24, has a very unconventional approach to making cash, and previously revealed that she flogs her used foot masks and earbuds online. 2 2 And now, the entrepreneur has shared one man pays to have a sniff of her hair. Taking to TikTok Lateisha explained that every six to eight weeks, she takes out her braids, and sends them to one specific customer. She said that people always assume that this man must be "old" or "weird. However, she described him as a "regular road man" in his twenties. Explaining what the man wants the braids for, Lateisha revealed: "He smells the braids and does his business." The TikToker revealed that she knows some people are attracted to the smell of unwashed hair, although she added that this is not a scent that pleases herself. "Because my braids are attached to my head, and they are in for so long, they have the unwashed hair smell", she said. Lateisha added that people always ask her whether she is concerned about pieces of her real hair getting mixed in with the braids she sends to the stranger. However, she said that this doesn't bother her as "he's not a serial killer, and he's not going to plant me at a crime scene." In a second video, Lateisha showed herself packing up the hair, and writing a "cute" card to send to the man. "Hope they smell as good as they looked on my head", she said, adding a lipstick kiss to the card. Lateisha then showed screenshot of her bank account, revealing that the man had deposited £800 in her account for the braids. The video, posted to her account @latieshajbackup, has likely left many people impressed, as it racked up a whopping 105,000 views on the video sharing platform. side hustle. One person said: "I've found my dream career!" A second said: "I'm about to start selling my extensions!"
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Shocking moment Ryanair passenger sobs & hits door after being stopped from boarding as her ‘hand luggage was too big'
THIS is the shocking moment a female Ryanair passenger is left sobbing on her knees after being banned from boarding her flight. The tearful woman was left hitting a door in an emotional outburst as airport staff reportedly told her that her hand luggage was too big. 6 6 6 6 Chaos unfolded at Sofia Airport in Bulgaria when the woman was left screaming, sobbing and venting her frustration over Ryanair 's strict baggage policy. A packed flight was due to board a bus to their plane when the female passenger was stopped in the queue. Nikolay Stefanov, a witness to the shocking ordeal, said the woman was told she had to pay for extra baggage because her luggage didn't fit in the holdall. The woman refused to pay as she explained her bag could in fact fit. Footage shows her trying to force her bag into the luggage rack by slamming it in. The bag does eventually fit but the staff still refuse to let her board. She then breaks down in tears as she pleads with a member of the border police and takes a video of the bag which is now wedged inside the rack. Dozens of the passengers were seen watching on from behind a glass door which was all that separated them from the weeping woman. Determined to board, she then starts to bang on the door and ask for help as Nikolay films the sad ordeal. More staff quickly surround the woman as her begging grows louder. Moment Brit woman is dragged off Ryanair flight & thrown to floor after 'assaulting passengers and making bomb threat' At one point she even drops to her knees before placing her hand on the door as tears roll down her face. Nikolay said the whole situation "escalated quickly". He added: "She was pleading with us not to leave, but we were threatened that the entire flight would be cancelled if we didn't get on the bus, so passengers became frightened and left." Nikolay said many onlookers were also shocked by how the staff treated her with next to no compassion. It has also been claimed that another passenger stood behind the woman in line was removed from the flight. A Ryanair staff member allegedly said that they couldn't let him on because "reopening the gate risked the woman trying to get on the bus". The viral footage soon caught the eye of Bulgaria's parliament. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Grozdan Karadjov has reportedly ordered an inspection of the airport's security cameras. Mr Karadjov is even said to have described the behaviour of employees in the video as "outrageous", reports. He has assured people that the main ground operator will be found and given the "highest fine" and a verbal warning. In response, Goldair Handling Bulgaria insisted their employees acted "professionally and without any physical contact with the passenger". The handling company released a statement to BNT News that read: "All rules regarding passengers' baggage, its permissible size and the fees payable for baggage are determined solely, entirely and unilaterally by the airlines. "Goldair Handling Bulgaria OOD is solely obliged to monitor compliance with these rules by the airlines. "This also applies to hand luggage, as Goldair Handling Bulgaria OOD is obliged to monitor the dimensions of this baggage and collect excess baggage fees. "[Staff] acted professionally and without any physical contact with the passenger." It comes as Ryanair's CEO is considering increasing bonuses paid to staff for spotting oversized luggage. The budget airline currently pays staff approximately €1.50 (£1.30) for stopping passengers with oversized bags from boarding the aircraft. Currently, staff bonuses for doing this are capped at €80 (£70) a month. Passengers who are unlucky enough to get caught out by the airline's staff are charged a fee of up to €75 (£65) for bringing luggage that is larger than they paid for while booking their journey. 6 6
The National
2 hours ago
- The National
TikToker hits 3m views praising National's Trump front page
TikTok user Hal_for_NY said Friday's splash, timed to coincide with the president's arrival in Scotland for the opening of a new golf course and meetings with Keir Starmer and European Commission president Ursula von der Layen, was 'amazing'. The clip has been viewed 3.1 million times and racked up more than 549,000 comments since it was posted on Friday. In the clip, the social media user said: 'Donald Trump is being welcomed to Scotland as a felon and not as a president as his trip is already off to a bad start. "Now, if you didn't know, today Donald Trump is headed to Scotland where he's expected to visit both of his golf courses and celebrate the grand opening of a new golf course, but in preparation for his arrival, Scottish newspaper The National released their front page and it is amazing. Take a look at this: 'Convicted US felon to arrive in Scotland'. 'Yeah, not president of the United States. Heck, they even call him 'Republican leader' instead of president. That is how he's going to be welcomed. On top of that, there are protests at both of his golf courses for his arrival.' The social media user goes on to speculate that Trump would have hoped the trip could have provided a 'distraction' to his domestic woes, as his Maga fanbase turn sour on the president over his refusal to release the so-called Epstein files. The results of historic investigations into paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, a former friend of Trump, are potentially explosive and reportedly name him but much of the material remains classified. (Image: Anna Moneymaker, Getty Images) Trump had said during his election campaign he would be open to releasing more – but has since walked this back, saying the case is closed. He also appeared to have been angered by a recent South Park episode which depicted him as literally getting into bed with Satan and having a tiny penis. The social media user added: 'Donald Trump thought he could get away and have a bit of a distraction. He's got so much going on here between the [Epstein] files that he's not releasing, the South Park episode. (Image: Greg Lovett/Palm Beach Post/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images) 'He's not having exactly the time he wants here, so he thought maybe in Scotland he can get away from this and get a distraction. Instead, he's getting the welcome that he so richly deserves. Well done.' It also featured in a video from the popular MeidasTouch YouTube channel which has received 1.6m views. The front page has spread like wildfire in Scotland, the UK and US, with anti-Trump Americans expressing their joy on social media at seeing the president exposed in the media.
