'Feel Free to Fall for It'

Videos on TikTok advancing false and misleading claims about prominent consumer brands garnered 57 million views in a NewsGuard analysis

-  JACK BREWSTER and MACRINA WANG

NEWSGUARD Rates the credibility of news and information websites and tracks online misinformation newsguardtech.com

PHOTOGRAPHS OF DEMONIC STATues perched on store shelves flash through the TikTok video as eerie music plays in the background. "Apparently Hobby Lobby has a crap-ton of Baphomet [satanic] and demon-like statues just on the shelves right now, which is really confusing because Hobby Lobby is a super Christian-based company," the unnamed narrator says.

The video is the first result that appeared on a list of videos when a NewsGuard analyst searched "Hobby Lobby" on TikTok. Contrary to the narrator's claims, the arts and crafts retail company does not sell demonic statues, and the photos shown in the video were Al-generated.

Hobby Lobby is among the major brands that have fallen victim to rampant misinformation on TikTok, a NewsGuard analysis found. In a July 7-13, 2023, review, NewsGuard analyzed the TikTok video search results of nine major brands. These brands-Anheuser-Busch, Balenciaga, Barilla, Bud Light, Chick-fil-A, Heineken, Hobby Lobby, Kohl's and Target-were chosen for review because they have recently become the targets of political criticism or boycotts.

NewsGuard found that videos that shared misinformation about these brands were cumulatively viewed 57 million times. Nearly half of the views were for videos that used AI-generated or otherwise manipulated media to advance misinformation.

In total, NewsGuard analyzed 520 TikTok videos and found that 14 percent, or 73 videos, contained false, misleading or unsubstantiated claims targeting the brands themselves. These video search results were generated by analyzing the top 20 results of 26 keyword searches related to brands based in the U.S. and Europe.