Just a few weeks in and 2021 has already proved a challenging start for many here in Ireland, with schools still closed and restrictions set to remain in place for the foreseeable future. This is a difficult and uncertain time for all of us. Especially our young people who are cut off from their friends, family and education.

Here at TikTok, we are continuously making efforts to educate our community about the pandemic, to raise awareness of how we can stay safe and find new ways to bring joy and inspire creativity. And now we're asking you for help on that journey.

We're calling on our Irish creators to participate in the Government-supported hashtag challenge… #antiviral

  • We all need to do our part to keep each other safe, so we are calling on our community here to share your real experiences of living in lockdown and how you’re being #antiviral

Some of our favourite creators have shown us how they’re being #antiviral, and we want you to follow in their footsteps and show us how you’re doing it too!

Like Shauna Fay (call.me.shaun) walking us through the highlights of her lockdown day - from drawing to home workouts and FaceTime with friends #relate

@call.me.shaun

Another day in my life in lockdown! What kind of things are you doing to get though the day rn? ✨ #Antiviral #fyp #Ireland @antiviral_ireland #ad

♬ original sound - Shaunafay

Or the Kerry Cowboy @kerrycowboy and his cast of farm animals reminding us that it's better to be part of the solution, than part of the problem.

@kerrycowboy

We're in deep 💩, now let's get out of it. Be #antiviral @antiviral_ireland #stayhome AD

♬ Lofi - Domknowz

And of course King Ye @namesking reminding us all that we need to work together and support one another during this difficult time, to stay #antiviral

@namesking

During these difficult times, we have to work together to prevent the spread of COVID-19 #antiviral #stayhome AD @antiviral_ireland ❤️

♬ Steven Universe - L.Dre

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly welcomed the initiative:

“We appreciate the support of TikTok and other social media in public awareness to keep our communities safe and to help us drive down the virus. After 11 months of messaging, it is good to see new creative ways of raising awareness and of the many who are trying to bring some joy and light to us all in these tough times Thank you to the TikTok creators for supporting us in our important endeavour.”


This is just the latest step TikTok is taking to support our community throughout the pandemic. We're committed to keeping our community safe and informed during these challenging times. Over the past few months, we've introduced several initiatives as part of our efforts to tackle misinformation related to COVID-19 as part of our mission to empower our community with a safe and positive in-app environment and experience. Did you know:

  • We continually update our in-app Information Hub, so when members of our community search for vaccine information in-app, they're directed to trusted sources from respected experts like the World Health Organisation. Since June, the page has been viewed more than 2 billion times globally.
  • We also moved to tackle misinformation by introducing a vaccine tag, which detects and tags all videos with words and hashtags related to the COVID-19 vaccine. A banner is attached to all these videos with the message 'Learn more about COVID-19 vaccines'. This also redirects the user to verifiable, authoritative sources of information.
  • Last year we also partnered with #TeamHalo - a group of scientists and doctors from around the world- who are giving a behind the scenes look at their work developing COVID vaccines, as well as taking time to answer all your questions
  • In recognition of the heroic and selfless efforts of many around the world, we've pledged $250m to support frontline healthcare workers, educators and local communities. We also set up a TikTok Health Heroes Relief Fund, the #LearnOnTikTok initiative and donated in-feed ad space to trusted organisations and local health authorities, such as the HSE in Ireland.

You can read more about TikTok's global COVID-19 relief efforts here.