TikTok hamsters and Lana Del Ray - how TikTok cults work

Forget fandoms, the new thing is TikTok “cults” which are raging across the popular Gen Z video-sharing app.

Now before you get too confused, these are online communities seeking to take over TikTok so no biggie.

A signifier of being a member of these “cults” is adopting a certain profile picture to let others know you are part of their online crew. At the moment, they are two rivals fighting to be the ultimate online collective. There have been more like this The New York Times piece explains.

The currently trending TikTok cult is for Lana Del Rey, started by fans who wanted to counteract the backlash she has been receiving and helping to promote her new album Chemtrails Over The Country Club. They have taken matters into their own hands, becoming an army of promoters for the pop star.

The Hamster Cult sprung up to go against this narrative, and takes a post first found on Know Your Meme in 2019 to be their mascot. It became a part of TikTok history after being posted by user @beanboy22.

Interested in joining either of these groups? Well, entry is easily achieved. All you need to do is change your profile picture, comment your allegiance on other users’ videos and the follows should come pouring in. Don’t believe us? Look at this recent user’s activity.

One of the app’s biggest creators, Addison Rae joined in on the fun, switching her avatar to that of the hamster.

Completely uninterested in these shenanigans? Don’t worry. You could happily scroll your For You page and never come across these groups because the TikTok algorithm is very good at showing you what you want to see - it reflects your interests back to you.