TikTok videos promoting steroids to teens garner millions of views

There is a surge in steroid-related content on TikTok targeting young men and teens, promoting dangerous and illegal substances, reports the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH).

Known as Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators (SARMs), these steroid-like drugs are not FDA-approved and are related to increased heart attack risk, infertility and psychosis.

Over three years, videos tagged with steroid-related hashtags garnered 580 million views in the US, primarily viewed by males between the ages of 18 and 24.

CCDH research finds

• In the US, 3.3% of school-age boys and 2.4% of girls have experimented with unprescribed steroids.
• The report identified 35 TikTok influencers with a following of 1.8 million users linked to websites selling illegal steroid-like drugs.