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Step Chickens and the Rise of TikTok ‘Cults’
Fandoms are forming around a new kind of influencer: the charismatic cult leader.
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Fandoms are forming around a new kind of influencer: the charismatic cult leader.
- The image has become nearly ubiquitous on TikTok, as tens of thousands of users have changed their avatars to show their loyalty to its subject: Melissa Ong, the 27-year-old “mother hen” of the platform’s largest and most powerful “cult,” the Step Chickens.
- TikTok users have been forming cults (of personality) and armies (the nonviolent kind) for months now, borrowing tactics from comment raid groups on other platforms. The Dum Dum gang, for instance, gained a following last year by taking over the comment sections of public figures like Barack Obama and Mark Zuckerberg.
- Since the app rebranded as Stepchickens, it has been downloaded more than a hundred thousand times. The company’s four-person team has struggled to keep up.
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