LONDON: A video of Saudi TikTok influencer Qaied Al-Majd went viral on Thursday after he completed one of the social media platform’s biggest challenges, winning SR4 million ($1.1 million) within minutes.
A TikTok LIVE battle between Al-Majd and Pakistani influencer Youssef on Wednesday generated views from over 950,000 followers, who paid the sum as they cheered for the streamers, Al-Arabiya reported.
Users, who said the battle lasted five minutes, speculated that the platform would receive the lion’s share of the prize money, which is almost SR2.6 million, leaving Al-Majd with SR700,000.
Youssef, who was competing with Al-Majd, is likely to receive SR500,000.
TikTok LIVE battles are real-time competitions in which streamers challenge each other, and the winner is decided by followers, who, while watching the battle, send virtual coins that winners can exchange for money.
ضخ مشاهدي #تيك_توك في السعودية قبل قليل نحو 4 مليون ريال سعودي في جولة دعم مدتها 5 دقائق..والرابحون 3 فقط هم :
تطبيق توك توك : 2.6 مليون ريال
قعيد: 700 ألف ريال
يوسف: 500 ألف ريال
السؤال: ثم ماذا ؟!.. ماهي فائدة المتابعين عجيب هذا التوك توك ! pic.twitter.com/GR3hg9xm5z— محمد البيشي (@albishi) April 25, 2023
The hefty sums won by the two TikTokers were viewed differently by social media users, with some celebrating the event, while others condemned it.
Noura Al-Tamimi expressed her pride in a tweet, saying: “Our son has smashed it. Well deserved.”
ولدنا يفوز بطرق الخشوم يستاهل كل خير #قعيد_المجد pic.twitter.com/cSmIsLkyrV
— نوره التميمي " (@noura90_a) April 25, 2023
Another Twitter user wrote: “May you joyfully dance tomorrow and every day. Only happiness suits this face.”
ترقص فرح بكرة وكل يوم باذن الله
يارب هالوجة مايليق فيه الا الفرح .#قعيد #قعيد_المجد pic.twitter.com/e4lZsyQdXH— 960K (@960K__) April 24, 2023
However, Abdulrahman Al-Thuwaibi was dismayed, writing: “(Foolish) followers remain and expand, and these are the most important element in the system as they were the ones who made those (influencers) famous. Things then developed and (followers) started paying (influencers) to support them — you never know, they could hire them in the future.”
المتابع (الاحمق) باقي ويتمدد وهو اهم فرد في المنظومة فهو من جعلهم مشاهير ثم تطور الوضع واصبح يدفع لهم ليستمروا ولا تستبعد بكره يشغلونه بخدمتهم
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واذا دخل تويتر كتب :
لا تجعلوا من الحمقى مشاهير
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ياحبيبي مافيه احمق منك https://t.co/I8lXbLxoLk— عبدالرحمن خربوش الذويبي (ابومتعب) (@abomt3bb2) April 26, 2023
Another social media user, Dr. Waleed Al-Zamel, believed society was failing its youth. He wrote in a tweet: “Society does not understand the needs of the youth in order to respond to them, but rather it is in conflict with them. Blaming the youth alone will not be enough. What could make a difference is to understand the language of the youth and how they think. Then we try to harness their energies to serve the country.”
المجتمع لم يفهم احتياجات فئة الشباب لكي يستجيب لها بل هو في صراع معهم.. لوم الشباب وحدة لن يكون كافي.. المهم أن نفهم لغة الشباب وكيف يفكرون؟ ثم نحاول تسخير طاقاتهم لخدمة الوطن! https://t.co/ZQmGYrhx7l
— د. وليد الزامل (@waleed_zm) April 26, 2023
Arab News couldn’t independently verify the accuracy of what has been shared on social media, and TikTok has not replied to attempts to get further clarification.
