Among the TikToks of dance routines, weight loss transformations, and beauty influencer pitches are videos of a more serious matter. TikTok users are sharing their migrant border crossings and smugglers are promoting their operations on the platform. There is no doubt TikTok provides a window into one of the most grueling human endeavors that might have a profound effect on either encouraging or discouraging others to take this journey.
Check out hashtags like #SueñoAmericano, #tapondarien, or #cbp for content. USA TODAY says TikToks with the hashtag #darien (for the Darien Gap between South and Central America) have been viewed 1.1 billion times as of June 2023.
In addition to migrants posting about their journeys, smugglers are also using TikTok to promote their operations. The smugglers use several effective tactics of promotional content, such as testimonials, to gain the trust of migrants. Smuggler operations are no travel agency, yet it’s easy to make it look that way on TikTok. The misinformation shared by smugglers on TikTok may make migrant overconfident in their ability to make it safely to the United States. So many migrants are using smartphones as their main information source, and this creates an “information vacuum” and fuels misinformation, according to the Washington Office on Latin America. TikTok is apparently banning smuggler accounts, according to USA TODAY, but as one is closed, another one opens.
Kelli S. Burns, Ph.D. 
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