Is the TikTok water tank challenge tragedy video real or fake? Viral claim debunked

A TikTok video is going viral on social media, in which a man entered a water tank headfirst for a challenge. As he entered the tank on TikTok live, he quickly started thrashing around and eventually stopped moving.

The 52-second-long clip went viral as netizens started assuming that the man died inside the tank. The internet users also noted how, in the livestream, the viewers kept sending the man gifts even after he stopped moving.

😱FAFO : TikTok streamer drowns while performing water tank challenge! pic.twitter.com/XjIYH3MAfJ

— Sniped 🔫 (@The_Sand_Men) August 6, 2025

Some netizens thought the man had passed away while doing the challenge, and called it "stupid." Others were skeptical and stated that the water tank was big enough for him to swim in, and he held his breath, pretending to be dead, for the views.

"The whole TikTok challenge thing is stupid, as are all the fools who go around pulling stupid stunts on people. All for views," one netizen wrote.

"If in the end you see him moving his hands hahaha, he managed to settle in and hold on well, good acting to gain views. If he knows how to hold his breath, he pulled off the bait perfectly," another X user added.

The water tank challenge is fake, as the man is alive. The man is Smil King, a content creator. The clip is from his livestream in 2023. He is fine and continues to post on social media platforms.

More details about Smil King, the influencer who went viral for his TikTok challenge

The content creator Smil King has over 700,000 followers on TikTok and more than 200,000 followers on Instagram. The water tank challenge seems to be a significant part of his content, as he often makes such videos.

He also posts the comments he receives from netizens during his TikTok livestreams. Besides the water tank videos, he reacts to viral videos, makes eating videos or mukbangs, and posts dance videos with his friend.

Smil King creates comedy videos on Instagram and occasionally shares photos of his car. The Spanish influencer has reuploaded other creators' reactions to his water tank video.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Smil king (@smil_king_oficial)

After his old video from 2023 gained mainstream attention, many media outlets wrote articles on it. On August 6, 2025, Smil King shared a screenshot of one such article.

He mockingly wrote in Spanish that the "crazy guy" in the video "died," with pigeons and crying emojis.

"Dude, but that's how my crazy guy died," the English translation of his Spanish message reads.

Several challenges have gone viral on social media over the years. The life-threatening ones include Benadryl challenge, blackout challenge, electrical outlet challenge, squishy toy challenge, dragon breath challenge, etc.

In February 2022, following the increasing popularity of dangerous challenges on TikTok, the app's head of US safety, Eric Han, shared that the moderation team worked hard to remove "violent content" and dangerous hashtags from the platform.

"Our moderation teams work very diligently to swiftly and expeditiously remove that violative content and redirect hashtags when someone might be searching for it in our search page. For example, if you search for something that we've determined is a dangerous challenge, you won't find content around that," Eric Han stated.

Stay tuned for more updates.