A viral "cannibal tribe" video has sparked outrage this month leaving the YouTuber who made it to face some serious backlash.
As reported by Dexerto, Dara Tah — an Irish content creator known for his thrill-seeking videos — was accused of exploiting a group of indigenous tribesmen in in New Guinea in a now-viral TikTok shared on August 15.
"Deep in the jungle of Papua…" the clip was captioned. "Just tried to make contact with a cannibal tribe."
The video begins with Tah and his fellow tourists paddling down a riverbank as their boat approaches a group of tribesmen. Tah immediately expresses his fear as he sees the tribe members wielding "huge bows."
"Seriously, this is terrifying," he says in the clip. "I’ve got an offering for them."
The content creator, who has more than 723,000 followers on TikTok, then turns his attention to the group’s tour guide, Demi, who supposedly "[knew] the tribe." As the crew gets closer to the riverbank, Tah pulls out a couple of salt packets he planned to give to the tribe.
"[Demi’s] telling us that this is the way to basically bargain our way and try to make them accept us," Tah continues. "I’ve got salt."
Tah begins waving the packets at a tribe member, before someone from behind the camera instructs Tah to open the packages and pour the seasoning into his hand. One of the spear-brandishing tribe members then reaches out to receive the salt before giving it a quick taste. However, the man didn’t seem too pleased with the offering, as he immediately spits it out.
"Oh God, he doesn’t look like he likes that," Tah says. "Alright, guys, let’s move back, maybe. He’s not into that."
Demi tells the group they have to move quickly because it's clear they're "not welcome."
"I’m not gonna lie, that is absolutely terrifying," Tah adds as the crew can then be seen beginning to retreat. "Oh my god. Demi, they are scary."
Although Demi apologized for taking the group to the area, Tah indicated he has every intention of returning.
"LOL. Will try again tomorrow," he wrote in the caption. "Wish us luck."
The TikTok has since received more than 18.3 million views and over 6,000 comments, many of which blasted Tah for the stunt. Many suspected the video was "staged," some dismissed it as reckless, and others slammed it as intrusive and exploitative.
"LEAVE THEM ALONE & THEY ARE NOT CANNIBALS!" one TikTok user wrote.
"Leave those people alone!!" another person commented. "Yall want to just corrupt everyone… go mind your own business."
"I don’t understand how there are people who risk their lives entering those places," a third added. "Why bother those people if they don’t bother anyone."
