TikTok is warning users about a video of a man killing himself that appears to have been circulating online since Sunday evening.

The victim, Ronnie McNutt, 33, was a former Army veteran who served in Iraq. He first livestreamed his suicide on Facebook and later the video appeared on TikTok.

It seems the clip quickly trended and was seen by a lot of people. The TikTok community soon started warning people about a video that starts with an image of a man sitting at a desk, but reports state that it was also hidden in more benign-looking clips.

“Our systems have been automatically detecting and flagging these clips for violating our policies against content that displays, praises, glorifies, or promotes suicide,” a spokesperson said. “We are banning accounts that repeatedly try to upload clips, and we appreciate our community members who’ve reported content and warned others against watching, engaging, or sharing such videos on any platform out of respect for the person and their family.”

What’s worrying is that the video trended on TikTok’s “For You” page, which is a feed that anyone can scroll through. Many people who saw the video weren’t following the person that posted it. Another worrying thing is the fact that around one-third of TikTok’s U.S. users are aged 14 or under.

It’s not the first time such an act has been posted to social media. Facebook took action against this happening a few years back, using artificial intelligence not only to make sure that such content is taken down quickly, but to prevent the act before it happens. In February this year, a 19-year-old in Brazil livestreamed his suicide on TikTok, with reports saying that the company took three hours before it contacted local authorities.

TikTok has now found itself facing criticism that the video wasn’t taken down sooner and also because it was pushed into the trending category by TikTok’s algorithm. Moreover, some users reported seeing the clip even after all the warnings were issued.

Photo: Solen Feyissa/Flickr