TIKTOK has apologized over a graphic video that showed a man being beheaded after viewers were lured in with a clip of a dancing girl.
The social media site removed the viral clip from the platform after users alerted them to its graphic content over the weekend.
In the now deleted footage, reportedly uploaded by user @mayenggo3, a man is attacked by a gang in a bathroom stall.
The video was first circulated online two years ago with reports at the time suggesting it showed the brutal killing of a 19-year-old in Mexico.
A spokesperson for the company has apologized for the "unconscionably graphic clip" and told Newsweek that it was "quickly removed".
The Sun contacted TikTok for comment on Monday.
On Twitter users have said the video has left them "scared" to use the platform.
One wrote: 'I can't go on TikTok today because I'm terrified of seeing the actual BEHEADING that is circulating on there."
Another user wrote: "It traumatized my sister so bad she came to my room bawling her eyes out."
And one tweeted: "It starts out normal, (a TikTok dance) then cuts to her getting her head cut off, if you see the video or a link with “cat box” in it, do not click on the video or link – report it."
And one mom who reported the clip told Bristol Live: 'The video is deeply disturbing and it needs stopping as it will traumatize children.
"I couldn't watch it all, it made me feel physically sick."
A TikTok spokesperson told Newsweek: "We appreciate the concerted effort by our community to warn about an unconscionably graphic clip from another site that was spliced into a video and brought onto TikTok.
"The original video was quickly removed, and our systems are proactively detecting and blocking attempted re-uploads of the clip to catch malicious behavior before the content can receive views.
"We apologize to those in our community, including our moderators, who may have come upon this content."
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