TikTokers Must Take a Stand on Gaza or Face the ‘Digitine’
She stands on a sidewalk in an oversized floral dress and headpiece, à la Midsommar, lip syncing “let them eat cake” as the catchy tunes of Le Tigre’s “Deceptacon” take over. Despite the bouffant hair and lavish dress, we are not in 18th century France and this is not Marie Antoinette—it is Haley Kalil, TikTok’s latest it girl. Like Antoinette, Kalil (better known as @haleyybaylee) has found herself at the mercy of her subjects who are calling for her to be digitally guillotined in an emerging trend known as the “digitine.”
The digitine refers to a digital purge of “canceled” online celebrities, blocking them with the intent of harming their income following their inaction on the genocide in Gaza. They face an ever-changing set of criteria. No McDonald’s, no Barclays bank account. These public figures are judged for their consumer habits rather than their political ones. With recurring phrases like “all eyes on Rafah,” and watermelon emojis (a symbol of Palestinian solidarity) dominating comment sections, the reckoning was inevitable.
Unfortunately for Kalil, her tone deaf video landed her at the center of the controversy. With allusions to The Hunger Games, users were quick to equate the fictional Capitol and the very real Met Gala, as the world’s elite reveled in a night of excess while protests raged outside.