(NewsNation) — When scrolling on TikTok, you might encounter a number of posts talking about “cute winter boots.”
If you’re looking to them for fashion advice, though, you probably won’t get it.
“Cute winter boots” has become a phrase some TikTokers are using to spread information about the Trump administration, its policies, and ways to fight back against them.
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One post, with the caption “Chicago had some really cute winter boots today!!!” shows a video of a protest in the Illinois city in front of Trump Tower. Other videos, with the hashtag “cute winter boots,” have people in them talking about banned or challenged books, Trump’s executive orders, or people’s rights when dealing with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in light of mass deportations.
Taylor Lorenz, a tech and culture journalist who founded the Substack newsletter User Mag, wrote that cute winter boots are another form of “algospeak,” or coded words and phrases used to bypass TikTok’s algorithmic filters. Some TikTok users have said they fear political content on the social media app is being restricted.
Another example is “Senator, I’m Singaporean.” This phrase popped up after a Senate hearing where TikTok CEO Shou Chew testified. During the hearing, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. asked Chew if he had ever been a member of the Chinese Communist Party, to which Chew responded: “No Senator, again, I’m Singaporean.” Fast Company writes that TikTok users will write this phrase in creators’ comment sections to warn them about “sensitive or flagged content” in videos.
This “algospeak” is used outside of politics as well: The Conversation writes that the word “unalive” has become a way to refer to death, “accountant” has become the way to refer to a sex worker, and “corn” is a stand-in for porn.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
