National parks, country music and thirsty traps have a lot in common, at least on the internet.
Hundreds of Tiktok messages combining sexually explicit audio, comic even memes and the amazing views of nature have flooded social media flows. The viral trend coincides with President Donald Trump Unprecedented financing cuts Targeting federal parks, forests, monuments, sea and trails.
The message of #Parktok And #MountAintok is classified G: to preserve and protect public land. The hot content is simply a packaging to attract subscribers and send this message to as many people as possible.
At first glance, the Tiktok fan explains Yellowstone And Joshua – Among dozens of other national parks, forests and leisure sites – seem to participate in a disadvantaged fight. Some commentators speculate that the park’s federal guards or marketing strategists have become thugs to obtain external financial support.
But unofficial accounts, which increase in number daily, are managed by independent content creators without affiliation to the government. According to the Office of Public Affairs of the National Park Service, the NPS has no official presence on TiktokBecause there are no service conditions between federal agencies and the platform.
“Viral trends focused on national parks can certainly stimulate the visibility of the park and arouse increased interest and awareness,” the National Park Service in an e-mail said. “We appreciate the enthusiasm for the parks of our nation and the creative ways whose individuals share their online experiences.”
And millions of followers on social networks say they are there for this. The promotion of the vast landscape of the country and its preservation for future generations could serve so as a spiritual uprising in dark times.
Nature is sexy; Budget cuts are not
Well beyond the racy adult content, there is a unifying objective to publish videos of cascades in cascade, colossal trees, attractive deserts and enchanting fauna. Researchers have note That national parks are essential to maintain biodiversity and support people’s well-being. And it seems that everyone, not only the Nerds of Nature, can find themselves behind these public lands – American national parks have seen a recording number of leisure visits last year, Almost 332 million.
“If you really like it all, you get attached to this beauty,” said Kim Tanner, the creator of the Joshua Tree Fan account. “And then you realize that you don’t want this beauty damaged.”
Trump administration Budget plan 2026 Includes the reduction of more than a billion dollars of the National Park Service. He also threatens to chop $ 33 billion in national leisure management programs and conservation and conservation subsidies. Grants are essential to maintain 433 Individual areas of public land Covering more than 85 million acres, which are managed by NP.
The National Parks Conservation Association claims that the budgetary reductions of the White House are the biggest discounts offered at the National Park Service during its 109 years of history and could “decimate at least 350 sites in the National Park. “Many said Trump set the foundations To sell public lands and transform recreational areas to state management.
According to Kristen BrengelMain vice-president of government affairs for the National Parks Conservation Association Association, the NPS has already lost nearly 2,500 employees, or nearly 13% of its staff, in what it calls an “brain exodus” of environmental experts.
“What is happening right now, trying to dismantle the National Park Service from the Interior, is more horrible than anything we have seen before,” said Brengel.
Become wild for nature
Tiktok is controversial, just like sex. This is precisely why tendencies like these have political capital, capable of attracting admirers and enemies, and bring everyone to conversation.
“Polarization on social media reflects our real political polarization,” said Katelyn Chedraoui, CNET social media journalist.
The #Parktok and #MOUNTAINTOK creators, some of whom are former park employees, are all nature lovers who extend over the political spectrum. Many accounts openly denounce the threats of the administration against parks and direct viewers to demonstrations or fundraising, but the trend is not openly supported or focused on activists.
“Most of their articles work at a subconscious level, which prompted viewers to think of national parks and their own experiences with them,” said Chedraoui. “It’s simple but effective.”
In fact, the Tiktok engagement around public lands was born before the budget cuts of the parks. The first three accounts of fans – Mount Hood, Mount Rainier and Yellowstone – appeared just after the elections last November. Managed by three friends who are outdoor enthusiasts, the accounts published very early messages which were a mixture of comic relief and wild fear.
There was not much trap content. “It was just waterfalls, views and sunsets,” said Jaime Wash, the creator behind the HOOD MOUNT And Mount St. Helens Fans accounts. Then two of the creators started to fish, and people loved it.
It was a fake beef, but the diss-track model became a winning strategy. In January, the trend began to pick up speed, with more fans accounts joining the fray. In recent months, the popularity of messages has seen reflux and flows – until recently, when all #MountAintok and #Parktok have exploded for their risky content.
The private parts of public lands have become a magic formula, a kind of viral virility, that the creators knew how to play. “Social media users are very used to brands acting on Tiktok,” said Chedraoui.
A bridge on troubled water
A few Critics criticized the parody accountsAccusing the creators of trying to monetize a legitimate cause, or to claim that the content accused sexually damages the reputation of the parks.
But according to the creators, who regularly collaborate in a group cat, making money was not and will never be, their intention. Wash told me that if, at some point, they receive a payment for the content, they plan to give the funds to the parks.
After winning such a general public, she said Wash, she said he was responsible for involving people. In April, the Mount Hood fans account brought out subscribers Portland’s hands protest.
“We build a community to show that things are not helpless, that change can happen and we are there for each other,” said Wash. And in addition to the increase in alarm, messages add comic relief and entertainment to a daily cycle of conviction and anxiety.
Tanner told me that #Parktok and #MountAintok can help open people’s eyes, showing how much nature is really fragile. By highlighting endangered animals and the damage caused by things such as logging, drilling and mining, they can help millions of followers to understand what is really in play.
Surprising power of social media
Social media act as a cultural barometer, revealing public feeling in real time and stressing the problems that resonate. Platforms like Tiktok also offer basic movements a megaphone, allowing people every day to bypass traditional multimedia filters and to speak directly to a large audience.
The NPCA encourages people to register for action alerts on their website to save parks.
“We have seen the digital action lead to tangible action,” said Sheila NguyenAssociate Director of Communications and Commitment of the National Parks Conservation Association. “The more people see this content on social networks, the more the pool of people who can speak, the more we can have a collective impact,” Nguyen told Cnet in an email.
In fact, it has been shown that social media advertising stimulates visits to the National Park. A 2024 Research study have found that positive publications on social networks which include photos or videos stimulate the biggest increases in visits.
“The more we can enter these parks, the better. In this way, they can experience it from the first hand, see it, fall in love, then want to protect it,” said Tanner.
The National Parks Conservation Association urges people to register for alerts on its plea page They can therefore raise concerns to Congress representatives. “We believe that Congress is the best option at the moment to ensure that the administration is retreating from these bad proposals,” said the Brengel of the NPCA. “The congress must be pushed to stop some of these terrible actions.”
Many creators of Tiktok with whom I spoke also said that they advocated ways to keep the elected officials responsible.
“It is heartbreaking to think that the places that I absolutely like may never be the same,” said Wash, “and I want to do everything to stop this.”
