When you think of TikTok, you probably think of trendy dances or sounds, or maybe people sharing lighthearted celebrity encounter stories.
Apparently, if you type "riririri" in a comment and then translate the comment...
It translates into ominous-sounding messages, like this one:
I went into the app myself to try this out and translated some of the comments (you can try it too by long-pressing on a comment and then selecting "translate"). I can promise you it's legit, as these are my own screenshots!
Not all of the comments become cryptic messages. These two, for example...
....translated into "snoring snoring snoring snoring" and "Rihanna is now Rihanna." Although I can't decide if the fact that this doesn't ALWAYS work makes it less unsettling or wayyyyy more unsettling.
Some are seeing them as spooky hidden messages from another plane of existence, warning us about the end of the world.
While others are just poking fun.
Of course, the most likely explanation is just that there's some AI weirdness going on with the app's translation function, especially since it looks like it attempts to auto-detect languages. Some are theorizing that it's attempting to translate from Maori, Xhosa, or Shona, and just taking some creative liberties.
But it could also be a translation AI that has become self-aware and will soon attempt to destroy all humans. Who knows?
