Everyone knows that TikTok has had some controversy regarding user privacy within the last couple of months. In August, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that would ban the app if it’s not purchased by an American company within 45 days. However, people on and off the app believe that the ban, which would take place on Sept. 20, is being put into effect because Trump wants to limit the younger generation’s free speech.

With the many trends on TikTok that have emerged throughout quarantine, one of them has become more mysterious than the others. So what is Aug. 27 TikTok?

To understand the Aug. 27 trend, you should look back at where it all blew up. On June 6, the TikTok user @stfusamantha posted a video stating, “If this is on your (For You Page), congratulations. You’ve been chosen. Remember the date August 27. It’s important.”

That video ended up receiving over 6.5 million views. Although she did not start this trend, @stfusamantha said that she saw a couple of videos stating that Aug. 27 was an important date. Her video is the one that is perceived to have started the trend. 

This trend caused many people to believe that either something amazing was going to happen, or something terrible was going to happen on this date. Many videos on TikTok were quoted saying, “Mark the date. August 27,” and “You have been chosen,” causing viewers to be confused as to what was truly going to happen. 

Many people decided to hop on the Aug. 27 trend with tarot card readings, astrological perspectives, a hoax that originated in 2003 and predictions that people claimed the TV show “The Simpsons” made. 

Astrological TikTok hopped on the trend extremely quickly. Many videos stated that Aug. 27 was a day to manifest anything you want. Manifestation is best described as receiving the energy back that you put into the universe. Many people manifest things that they want, putting it into the universe and hoping that it will come back to them. 

The TikTok user @yourmomshoroscope made a video on Aug. 26 describing what, in an astrological point of view, should be happening on Aug. 27. In the video, she described that the week of Aug. 27 would be a time where Mars “squares” Saturn.

According to the user, this would mean that the week could create a lot of tension and disruption in many people’s day-to-day lives. The user also stated that the specific day of Aug. 27 is not an important date in astrology; however, something could happen because of the placement of the planets at that specific time. 

Two predictions, however, did come out of this trend. One prediction came from a viral photo that was said to be a screenshot of an old “Simpsons” episode, where Trump was in a coffin, supposedly having died on Aug. 27. This photo turned out to be fake, as “The Simpsons” never aired an episode where Trump had died and the prediction was debunked. 

The second prediction that came out of this trend was the idea that at 12:30 a.m. on Aug. 27, two moons would be visible. However, this turned out to be a hoax that first appeared in 2003.

Astronomer Phil Plait debunked this hoax when NASA found that Mars would be less than 35 million miles from the Earth’s center, rather than the 46 million miles it usually is. The closer distance would cause Mars to be bigger and brighter, though not as big and bright as the moon is to the naked eye. This phenomenon will also not happen until Aug. 28, 2287.

So, what did happen on Aug. 27? With all the excitement and anxiety surrounding the date, did anything significant actually happen? Of all of the things predicted, perhaps what did happen was the most surprising — TikTok’s CEO Kevin Mayer resigned.

 “Against this backdrop, and as we expect to reach a resolution very soon, it is with a heavy heart that I wanted to let you know that I have decided to leave the company,” Mayer said in a statement.

Mayer’s resignation is likely due to the increased pressure on the app from the Trump administration, but the outcome is one that even the mystical, viral trend hadn’t anticipated.

Kadyn Thorpe can be reached at entertainment@collegian.com.