Amid rapid growth, the Nigerian TikTok community sees content removals for nudity and hateful behaviour

In December, TikTok released its Community Guidelines Enforcement Report which contained information on content and accounts removed in the third quarter of 2023. Over a million videos posted by users in the Nigerian TikTok community were removed for violating TikTok’s policies by engaging in activities like adult nudity, promotion of violent or illegal activities, and hateful behaviour, among others.

Beyond violating policies, these numbers are indicative of the growth of content in these regions. 2023 has seen a sharp influx in the number of TikTok videos and creators from Africa with Kenya leading this growth. However, the majority of Kenyans used TikTok primarily to stay updated with the news, unlike users in countries like South Africa and Nigeria who used the platform to stay entertained and build community.

This year saw a lot of interesting creators from Nigeria, with the most common measure of virality being how much the video is shared across other social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram.

One of the most popular genres this year was comedy, with creators like Isaac Olayiwola, known as Layi Wasabi going viral several times for his lawyer skits, and Josh2funny amassing millions of views and over 26 million likes for his The Audition series. The series was immensely popular on TikTok and trended globally.

Other smaller creators found their audience and became TikTok sweethearts in no time. Kehinde Ajose, who creates under the moniker, Omooba stole the hearts of Nigerians with her Mummy GO skits, which depict the adventures of a conservative Christian mother receiving potential wives for her only son, Wale. Rita Ginika, known as Neekah, also rose to fame quickly with skits of her reenacting popular hilarious sounds on the platform.

Outside comedy, food was another genre of content with some of the most viral videos. Hilda Baci was the most popular food creator in Nigeria, with over 14 million likes and 1.3 million followers. While the chef already had a healthy following on the app, she shot to virality during her Guinness World Record cookathon in May. TSpices, another food creator, went viral for her budget-friendly recipes and lively voiceovers, raking in 3.5 million likes.

2023 was also the year for lifestyle creators sharing with us their everyday lives for entertainment. We got a lot of GRWM content and vlogs from younger creators which did incredibly well with TikTok users. Fisayo became one of the most popular Gen Z lifestyle creators for her funny yet relatable lifestyle content.

We also saw creators like Ima, who calls herself an “unemployed baddie”, win the attention of users with her funny, chaotic personality. She has a total of 5.1 million likes on the app.

TikTok usage is fast growing in Nigeria, with the younger population favouring the platform over competitor, Instagram. For one, it’s an easier place to go viral and find a larger collection of short video content. Beyond watching, more people are plugging into content creation as the app never runs out of interesting trends, filters and content prompts.

With the popularity of these creators, it is expected that 2024 will see a rise in a lot more creators especially in categories like comedy, food and lifestyle.