TikTok removed a swastika necklace from one seller's TikTok shop after users reported seeing the product advertised in their feeds in the days after Hanukkah.
The $8 necklace was labeled as “Hiphop titanium steel pendant” and described by the Chinese seller as a “simple swastika symbol… suitable for both boys and girls, trendy and niche.”
Following complaints by users, TikTok removed the necklace from TikTok Shop, but the seller remains active and continues to sell other necklaces, including a tarot card pendant, a St. Michael pendant, and a necklace bearing the phrase “Bring Them Home–Now!” in English alongside the Hebrew text “Our heart is held captive in Gaza,” a message supporting Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.
The advocacy organization Jewish on Campus condemned the listing:
“When symbols tied to antisemitism and white supremacy are marketed on a major social platform, the Jewish community is impacted with shock and fear. Swastikas aren’t only a representation of a dark past. They continue to be used against us today. It’s frightening, and it’s unacceptable.”
In 2020, Shein removed a $2.50 swastika necklace from its site after the listing sparked similar backlash online. The company said at the time that the listing wasn’t for a Nazi swastika, but for:
“a Buddhist swastika which has symbolized spirituality and good fortune for more than a thousand years. The Nazi swastika has a different design, it is pointed clockwise and tilted at an angle. However, because we understand the two symbols can be confused and one is highly offensive, we have removed the product from our site.”
I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that this particular Chinese seller, who has a 4.4-star rating and has sold more than 5,000 products on TikTok Shop, did not list the swastika necklace out of malice towards Jews, but out of ignorance in regards to what the symbol means in Western culture.
I've spent many years traveling and often come across words, brands, and symbols that don't mean the same as they do in the U.S. or in other Western cultures. For example, down here in Ecuador I've seen a bicycle brand called “Kike” (which is a derogatory word for Jewish people), and just last week I walked into a used car dealership called “FAG Motors.” Words and symbols mean different things in different places.
As Shein pointed out in 2020, the swastika symbol predates the Nazis by several millennia. Across different cultures, the swastika has historically symbolized good fortune, prosperity, protection, and spiritual well-being, particularly in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and other ancient traditions, long before its appropriation by the Nazis.
Frankly I say it's about time we took the symbol and its meaning back. Fuck the Nazis! However in the meantime, I certainly understand how seeing a swastika necklace in your TikTok feed can be off putting and cause outrage. The situation demonstrates the important cultural nuances involved with selling internationally.