Latest news with #ParkTok
CNN
42 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
Risqué TikTok posts go viral and spur interest in national parks
Kim Tanner, a TikTok influencer behind the 'ParkTok' trend, discusses with CNN's Rahel Solomon her inspiration behind the creative venture. The viral content that features risqué videos and raunchy song lyrics to promote awareness of national parks is racking up followers amid federal funding cuts from the Trump administration.
CNN
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
Risqué TikTok posts go viral and spur interest in national parks
Kim Tanner, a TikTok influencer behind the 'ParkTok' trend, discusses with CNN's Rahel Solomon her inspiration behind the creative venture. The viral content that features risqué videos and raunchy song lyrics to promote awareness of national parks is racking up followers amid federal funding cuts from the Trump administration.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Yahoo
Viral, raunchy ‘ParkTok' trend aims to raise awareness of spending cuts to national parks
The 10-second video begins with a close-up on the abs of a sweaty, shirtless man wearing low-slung, gray sweatpants. But three seconds in, it cuts to a panoramic video of Havasu Falls in Arizona, with its striking turquoise water cascading down from red rocks. Welcome to ParkTok. The video — from an unofficial account posting about Grand Canyon National Park and other nature sites in Arizona — is emblematic of a trend that's gone viral on TikTok in recent weeks that pairs sexually suggestive clips or music with scenic images and footage of America's natural wonders. Unofficial accounts representing state and national parks, mountains and rivers have participated in the trend, sometimes trading playful barbs about which has the 'biggest trees' or 'longest lakes.' The videos are funny and moderately unhinged in the way TikTok trends often are, but they have a serious aim: to raise awareness about threats to US public lands amid the Trump administration's efforts to gut national parks staffing and designate more of America's wild lands for drilling, mining and logging. Many of the videos encourage viewers to donate to organizations such as the National Park Foundation or to call their local representatives to advocate for protecting public lands, part of a long tradition of using social media to organize social and political movements. 'This does go way beyond the thirst traps,' Kim Tanner, who runs the unofficial Joshua Tree account @joshuatreenp with more than 250,000 followers, told CNN. 'It's a way to pull people in, it's a way to hook them, and it works. But at the same time, you're showing them that beautiful imagery (of the parks) and hopefully, even if subliminally, you're educating them.' ParkTok emerged last fall, long before their videos started with sexy teasers and ahead of President Donald Trump's second term. At the time, many of the account holders just wanted to promote the beauty of their local parks, like Phoebe, a nature enthusiast who started the unofficial Multnomah Falls account @multnomah_falls to share her love of Oregon's Columbia River Gorge. Phoebe asked CNN not to use her last name to avoid being identified by her employer. Then in February, the Trump administration fired thousands of National Park Service and Department of Interior workers as part of widespread government workforce reductions, prompting national parks and monuments to announce closures, pause reservations and limit hours. In his first three months in office, Trump also signed orders to increase mining and oil and gas drilling in Alaska, expand logging in federally protected national forests and roll back rules that pushed car makers toward cleaner forms of energy — all of which have drawn concern from environmental groups. As the potential impact of Trump's environmental policies started to sink in, several ParkTok accounts joined a group chat on TikTok. 'We started thinking we could probably do some good with this instead of just sharing our hiking videos,' Phoebe said. The group decided to start 'doing coordinated, themed posts, in between our silly posts and our nature posts, about the threats of logging and the threats of our public lands being sold and all of these things that have been introduced by the federal government,' she said. The National Park Service and the National Park Foundation did not respond to requests for comment. Some ParkTok videos have racked up hundreds of thousands of views, including one Phoebe posted earlier this month showing videos of Multnomah Falls set to the explicit song 'Fat Juicy & Wet.' They're not all sexually suggestive. One video, posted by an unofficial Bryce Canyon National Park account, shows a scenic image of nature with a voiceover saying, 'show me the reason you have no money,' and then it cuts to an image of the White House. It's been viewed more than 1 million times. Canadian parks such as Banff National Park have also gotten in on the action to advocate for their American neighbors. Both Tanner and Phoebe said their ParkTok accounts are just hobbies aimed at raising awareness for places they love. They both have full-time jobs and aren't making money from the accounts, although they said they would donate any future earnings from TikTok's creator fund to the causes they're promoting. And Tanner said she thinks ParkTok can help bridge the divide between people from different political parties because 'one thing that does bring a lot of people together is the national parks and national forests.' 'If you see these beautiful images and these beautiful photos,' she said, 'you start to fall in love with these places, you start to get attached to them, then your natural instinct is going to be to want to protect it.'
CNN
5 days ago
- Lifestyle
- CNN
Viral, raunchy ‘ParkTok' trend aims to raise awareness of spending cuts to national parks
The 10-second video begins with a close-up on the abs of a sweaty, shirtless man wearing low-slung, gray sweatpants. But three seconds in, it cuts to a panoramic video of Havasu Falls in Arizona, with its striking turquoise water cascading down from red rocks. Welcome to ParkTok. The video — from an unofficial account posting about Grand Canyon National Park and other nature sites in Arizona — is emblematic of a trend that's gone viral on TikTok in recent weeks that pairs sexually suggestive clips or music with scenic images and footage of America's natural wonders. Unofficial accounts representing state and national parks, mountains and rivers have participated in the trend, sometimes trading playful barbs about which has the 'biggest trees' or 'longest lakes.' The videos are funny and moderately unhinged in the way TikTok trends often are, but they have a serious aim: to raise awareness about threats to US public lands amid the Trump administration's efforts to gut national parks staffing and designate more of America's wild lands for drilling, mining and logging. Many of the videos encourage viewers to donate to organizations such as the National Park Foundation or to call their local representatives to advocate for protecting public lands, part of a long tradition of using social media to organize social and political movements. 'This does go way beyond the thirst traps,' Kim Tanner, who runs the unofficial Joshua Tree account @joshuatreenp with more than 250,000 followers, told CNN. 'It's a way to pull people in, it's a way to hook them, and it works. But at the same time, you're showing them that beautiful imagery (of the parks) and hopefully, even if subliminally, you're educating them.' ParkTok emerged last fall, long before their videos started with sexy teasers and ahead of President Donald Trump's second term. At the time, many of the account holders just wanted to promote the beauty of their local parks, like Phoebe, a nature enthusiast who started the unofficial Multnomah Falls account @multnomah_falls to share her love of Oregon's Columbia River Gorge. Phoebe asked CNN not to use her last name to avoid being identified by her employer. Then in February, the Trump administration fired thousands of National Park Service and Department of Interior workers as part of widespread government workforce reductions, prompting national parks and monuments to announce closures, pause reservations and limit hours. In his first three months in office, Trump also signed orders to increase mining and oil and gas drilling in Alaska, expand logging in federally protected national forests and roll back rules that pushed car makers toward cleaner forms of energy — all of which have drawn concern from environmental groups. As the potential impact of Trump's environmental policies started to sink in, several ParkTok accounts joined a group chat on TikTok. 'We started thinking we could probably do some good with this instead of just sharing our hiking videos,' Phoebe said. The group decided to start 'doing coordinated, themed posts, in between our silly posts and our nature posts, about the threats of logging and the threats of our public lands being sold and all of these things that have been introduced by the federal government,' she said. The National Park Service and the National Park Foundation did not respond to requests for comment. Some ParkTok videos have racked up hundreds of thousands of views, including one Phoebe posted earlier this month showing videos of Multnomah Falls set to the explicit song 'Fat Juicy & Wet.' They're not all sexually suggestive. One video, posted by an unofficial Bryce Canyon National Park account, shows a scenic image of nature with a voiceover saying, 'show me the reason you have no money,' and then it cuts to an image of the White House. It's been viewed more than 1 million times. Canadian parks such as Banff National Park have also gotten in on the action to advocate for their American neighbors. Both Tanner and Phoebe said their ParkTok accounts are just hobbies aimed at raising awareness for places they love. They both have full-time jobs and aren't making money from the accounts, although they said they would donate any future earnings from TikTok's creator fund to the causes they're promoting. And Tanner said she thinks ParkTok can help bridge the divide between people from different political parties because 'one thing that does bring a lot of people together is the national parks and national forests.' 'If you see these beautiful images and these beautiful photos,' she said, 'you start to fall in love with these places, you start to get attached to them, then your natural instinct is going to be to want to protect it.'
CNET
22-05-2025
- CNET
TikTok's Sexy Defense of Nature: The Real Story Behind Viral National Park Videos
National parks, gay country music and thirst traps have a lot in common, at least on the internet. Viral TikTok posts combining sexually explicit audio, comical memes and stunning views of nature have flooded social media feeds. The growing trend coincides with President Donald Trump's unprecedented funding cuts targeting federal parks, forests, monuments, seashores and trails. The message of #ParkTok and #MountainTok is G-rated: to conserve and protect public lands. The raunchy content is merely a wrapper to lure followers and get that message in front of as many people as possible. At first glance, the TikTok fan accounts for Yellowstone and Joshua Tree -- among dozens of other national parks, forests and recreation sites -- appear to be competing in an unhinged brawl. Some commenters speculate that federal park rangers or marketing strategists have gone rogue to garner outside financial support. But the unofficial accounts, which are growing in number daily, are run by independent content creators with no affiliation to the government. According to the National Park Service's Office of Public Affairs, the NPS has no official presence on TikTok, as there are no terms of service between federal agencies and the platform. "Viral trends focused on national parks can certainly boost park visibility and drive increased interest and awareness," the National Park Service told CNET in an email. "We appreciate the enthusiasm for our nation's parks and the creative ways individuals share their experiences online." And millions of social media followers say they're here for it. Promoting the country's vast landscape and its preservation for future generations could serve as a kind of spiritual uplift in dark times. Nature is sexy; budget cuts aren't Far beyond the racy adult content, there's a unifying purpose to fans posting videos of cascading waterfalls, colossal trees, seductive deserts and enchanting wildlife. Researchers have noted that national parks are key to conserving biodiversity and supporting people's well-being. And it seems everyone, not just nature nerds, can get behind these public lands: US national parks saw a record number of recreation visits last year, nearly 332 million. "If you actually love all this stuff, you get attached to that beauty," said Kim Tanner, the creator of the Joshua Tree fan account. "And then you realize you don't want that beauty damaged." The Trump administration's 2026 budget plan includes slashing more than $1 billion from the National Park Service. It also threatens to axe a whopping $33 billion from national recreation management programs and conservation and preservation grants. The grants are critical to maintaining 433 individual areas of public lands covering more than 85 million acres, which are managed by the NPS. The National Parks Conservation Association says the White House's budget reductions are the largest proposed cuts to the National Park Service in its 109-year history and could "decimate at least 350 National Park sites." Many have said Trump is laying the groundwork to sell off public lands and turn recreational areas over to state-level management. According to Kristen Brengel, senior vice president of government affairs for the National Parks Conservation Association, the NPS has already lost nearly 2,500 employees, or nearly 13% of its staff, in what she calls a "brain trust exodus" of environmental experts. "What's happening right now, in trying to dismantle the National Park Service from the inside out, is more horrific than anything we've seen before," Brengel told me. Getting wild for the wild TikTok is controversial, and so is sex. That's precisely why trends like these have political capital, capable of attracting admirers and haters, and bringing everyone else into the conversation. "The polarization on social media is reflective of our real-life political polarization," said CNET social media reporter Katelyn Chedraoui. The #ParkTok and #MountainTok creators, some of whom are former park employees, are all nature lovers who span the political spectrum. Many of the accounts openly denounce the administration's threats against the parks and direct viewers to demonstrations or fundraisers, but the trend isn't overtly partisan or activist-driven. "Most of their posts work on a subconscious level, prompting viewers to think about the national parks and their own experiences with them," said Chedraoui. "It's simple but effective." In fact, the TikTok engagement around public lands originated before the budget cuts to the parks. The first three fan accounts -- Mount Hood, Mount Rainier and Yellowstone -- appeared right after the elections last November. Managed by three friends who are avid outdoor enthusiasts, the accounts put up posts early on that were a mix of comic relief and wilderness awe. There wasn't much thirst trap content then. "It was just waterfalls and vistas and sunsets," said Jaime Wash, the creator behind the Mount Hood and Mount St. Helens fan accounts. Then, two of the creators started trolling each other, and folks loved it. It was fake beef, but the diss-track template became a winning strategy. By January, the trend started picking up speed, with more fan accounts joining the fray. Over the last several months, the popularity of the posts has seen ebbs and flows -- until fairly recently, when all of #MountainTok and #ParkTok blew up for their risqué content. Private parts in public lands became a magic formula, a kind of viral virility, that the creators knew how to play up. "Social media users are very used to brands acting unhinged on TikTok," said Chedraoui. A bridge over troubled water Some critics have slammed the parody accounts, accusing creators of trying to monetize a legitimate cause, or claiming that the sexually charged content damages the parks' reputations. But according to the creators, who collaborate regularly in a group chat, making money wasn't, and never will be, their intention. Wash told me that if at any point they do collect a payout for the content, they plan to donate the funds to the parks. After gaining such a huge following, Wash said, she felt it was her responsibility to get people involved. In April, the Mount Hood fan account brought out followers to Portland's Hands Off protest. "We're building a community to show that things aren't helpless, that change can happen and we're there for each other," Wash said. And besides raising the alarm, the posts add comic relief and entertainment to a daily cycle of doomscrolling and anxiety. Tanner told me that #ParkTok and #MountainTok can open people's eyes, showing how fragile nature really is. By highlighting endangered animals and the environmental damage from logging, drilling and mining, the posts can help millions of followers understand what's really at stake. The stunning power of social media Social media acts as a cultural barometer, unveiling public sentiment in real time and broadcasting issues that most resonate. Platforms like TikTok also give grassroots movements a megaphone, allowing everyday people to bypass traditional media filters and speak directly to broad audiences. The NPCA encourages people to sign up for action alerts on their website to save the parks. "We've seen digital action lead to tangible action," said Sheila Nguyen, associate director of communications and engagement for the National Parks Conservation Association. "The more people who see that social media content, the bigger the pool of people who may speak up and the more collective impact we can have," Nguyen told CNET in an email. In fact, social media publicity has been shown to boost national park visitation. A 2024 research study found that positive social media posts that include photos or videos drive the biggest increases in visitation. "The more people we can get into these parks, the better. That way, they can experience it firsthand, see it, fall in love with it, and then want to protect it," said Tanner. The National Parks Conservation Association urges people to sign up for alerts on its advocacy page so they can raise concerns with congressional representatives. "We feel that Congress is the best option right now to get the administration to back off of these bad proposals," said the NPCA's Brengel. "Congress needs to be pushed to stop some of these terrible actions." Many TikTok creators I spoke with also said they're advocating ways to hold elected officials accountable. "It's heartbreaking to think the places that I absolutely love may never be the same again," said Wash, "and I want to do anything to stop that."
