‘Why did I spend my university money on the Big Tribal Game’

A scroll through Zara’s transactions shows that she has spent thousands of dollars on TikTok.

Zara, not her real name, is in her 20s, lives in the US and has Somali roots. He was impressed with the platform’s live battle feature – which sees the two promoters insult and sometimes taunt each other as they ask their fans for money to win the fight.

He will later discover that there is a much darker side to these games and share his story with the BBC World Service.

The fights are very popular among TikTok users all over the world but the basis of the Somali game is different because the promoters on both sides often represent the Somali clan and sometimes trade insults that can turn into vitriol.

It is known as the Big Tribal Game and tens of thousands of people sing along as the promoters play rap music that extols the beauty of their clan, with lyrics praising the bravery and beauty of their people.

The event we watched on a Saturday night in October was a typical example: there were two presenters on a dividing screen. About 50,000 people were watching with us.

Making a “battle” basically means encouraging the spectators to give the players more gifts, which they need to win each five-minute round.

The winner is the promoter who received the most gifts – and the loser is then expected to congratulate his opponent by admitting that his family is the strongest of the night.

Sometimes events are advertised online several months in advance.

The promoters, usually based in the US and Europe, go live before the game starts, rousing the crowd.

At the beginning of games, sometimes arguments continue, but in-game chat can be normal. The action is between the donors, trying to outdo each other.

There is a new language, digital currency and many obscure rules that are part of the game, adding a surreal quality to the events.

We’ve seen some of the highest priced items gifted, such as the “TikTok universe”, which costs more than $500 (£385) and is equivalent to nearly 50,000 TikTok coins. It encourages the animation of people dancing to a beautiful song.

It’s a little cheaper at $400 (£308) and the fan favorite is the lion, which roars loudly as it runs through the screen. Or there is a gentle whale swimming out of an underwater tunnel.

Some gifts use filters on the influencer’s face such as a cowboy hat and mustache, a red beret or a seasonal pumpkin head.

Zara says she started playing because she wanted to protect the pride of her nation.

“It was fun” and “my side always won”, he recalls.

But Zara spent more than $7,000, which was intended to cover her university fees, on the games.

“My parents, if they find out that I’m spending a lot of money on TikTok, they’ll be upset – they won’t [be] I’m happy – but somehow it’s like addiction.”

He also questions why he donated his hard-earned money to promoters who rarely show gratitude.

But as he entered this world, he faced something worse.

We’ve seen evidence that a US-based male promoter was insulting female TikTokers and threatening them – threatening to post their porn.

Zara says it happens a lot: “They find out who you are, they hold pictures of your family, a picture of you, and they say, ‘I’m going to expose you.’

He says that the man based in the US did this to him and he was afraid and worried that his family would see the fake picture and he threatened to retaliate, he couldn’t sleep at night.

“Imagine your family seeing pictures of you naked. They don’t know they’re Photoshopped.”

When Zara reported the account to TikTok, she says they did nothing.

The promoter goes by the name of Hussein Kibray online and has over 200,000 followers. He often takes part in sports.

Zara believes other women have been threatened in this way but we have yet to see any photos taken of her – or other women – shared by her publicly.

We asked him about his behavior but he did not respond to our message.

After the BBC contacted TikTok about Kibray’s accounts, the social media platform responded that it had now banned them for violating its policies on sexual and physical abuse of adults.

In a statement, a TikTok spokesperson said: “We prioritize the safety of our community with some of the strictest streaming requirements in the industry, including Match-specific content policies, customized safety tools for viewers, and only allowing people over 18 to live or send gifts. .”

TikTok’s live shows are often confrontational and sometimes at least a bit aggressive – whether it’s staged or real. Matches can get heated when the promoters argue over the power of different families.

Tribal identity is deeply embedded in Somali society and politics, but it can be a sensitive topic. The nations fought each other in Somalia’s civil war that began after the overthrow of long-time dictator Siad Barre in 1991 and the worst war continued until 2001.

Sometimes the promoters revisit the civil war – who won, what happened – and insult their ancestors and even take pride in killing opponents.

Many people are concerned that games are also contributing to the toxic online environment. TikTok has told us that live content must comply with their community guidelines, which apply globally.

Away from the Big Tribal Game arena, there are serious concerns about the level of clannism as well hate speech in all the social networks that circulate influential Somali accounts, usually located abroad.

Moustafa Ahmad, a security researcher specializing in the Horn of Africa, says there is something strange about that.

“People who turn their backs on the country to build their lives in Western countries because of the conflicts, because of the tension they leave behind, become part of [the] a cycle that exacerbates violence and discord between communities in the region,” he said.

And the Big Tribal Game seems to be popular in Somalia – discussed in many tea shops in the capital, Mogadishu, and in high society.

“Sometimes you’ll see politicians and elders talking and joking about how their family won last night’s game. It’s not something we should joke about,” said promoter Bilaal Bulshawi, who has nearly two million followers and is known for his fun videos and online challenges. .

He is based in Somalia, unlike many who fought the TikTok wars, he says that he participated in the game when it first became a trend but it was not a game based on tribes that was planned in advance.

He has been watching the spending of money on these events increase constantly and suggests that this money can be used to help the country instead.

“It is really unfortunate, to spend so much money, knowing that Somalia is suffering and you are asking for help from the world,” he said.

If you do the basic math it can look like promoters are putting in thousands of dollars during high profile games.

However, the reality may not be so rosy, says Crystal Abidin, founder of the TikTok Cultures Research network and professor of Internet studies at Curtin University in Australia.

He has not studied the “wars” of Somalia but says that the promoters often create the illusion of great wealth.

“Many followers get the impression that all the coins and flashy images streaming across the screen show that there is a lot of money going straight into the pockets of influential people,” said Prof Abidin.

“And in reality, the exact amount, volume or percentage difference is actually opaque.”

He says in his research elsewhere there are invisible costs: the platform takes a cut, sometimes there are people managing creators, sometimes there is seed money to create the impression that giving is natural.

We know that for many involved in the Big Tribal Game, the emotions and passions are real.

These events are awaited for months and drive high engagement – but Zara understands why some “gifts” may wish to leave.