Videos of AI ‘chubby filter’ removed from TikTok after critics call out body shaming
TikTok has stopped allowing people to search for videos featuring the use of an artificial intelligence “chubby filter” after users criticized it as a form of body shaming.
Participants in the trend used an AI-driven tool, created by a user on the editing app CapCut, to alter themselves to look larger. CapCut and TikTok are both owned by the Chinese company ByteDance.
Using Doechii’s song “Anxiety” as the background music, participants in the trend would show unaltered versions of themselves before they applied the filter that transformed them into bigger bodies. Some of the videos have gotten millions of views. While some commenters said they found the trend funny, others said it perpetuates fatphobia and stigmatizes weight gain.
“There’s an amaaazing new trend on TikTok where skinny girls use a filter to become ‘chubby’ and laugh laugh at the results and everyone else laughs and it’s sooooooo funny and we definitely aren’t spiralling back down to pro ana death to fats era that damages every young woman,” an X user wrote in a post that got more than 2.9 million views.
A spokesperson for TikTok confirmed Tuesday that CapCut had removed the filter. The platform is reviewing videos that have used the filter to make them ineligible for recommendation.
In its Community Guidelines, TikTok says it does “not allow showing or promoting disordered eating and dangerous weight loss behaviors, or facilitating the trade or marketing of weight loss or muscle gain products.”
The outcry over the “chubby filter” coincides with greater concerns from people online that society has moved away from body positivity, a movement centered on self-acceptance regardless of body type.
Over the years, other weight-loss-related TikTok trends — including one in which people posted pretend “before and after” weight loss photos and another in which people used the “bloated” filter — have generated similar negative responses. Other filters that modify people’s faces or bodies have also sparked debate over how they could contribute to body dysphoria or self-esteem problems.
In the past year, influencers who are known for championing body positivity have noticed an alarming return to “thinness” as the norm. In its 2025 spring/summer size inclusivity report, Vogue Business wrote that “progress has stalled and we are facing a worrying return to using extremely thin models, amid the Ozempic boom,” referring to using the popular drug semaglutide for weight loss.
Recent research has pointed to potential risks of social media when it comes to young women and body image. Users of social media apps like TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat continue to grapple with body issues and eating disorders. While unhealthy beauty standards in the media have been an issue for decades, critics of social media apps argue they aren’t doing enough to protect younger users.
A study published in August found that women who spend time on TikTok are at a greater risk of disliking their bodies and feeling worse about their appearance. The study found that the women surveyed had negative body reactions after as little as 10 minutes viewing content on TikTok.
“One of the saddest realities to me is that the blunt nature of the algorithm is such that searching for body positivity content may result in users being exposed to pro-anorexia content,” Rachel Hogg, a senior lecturer in the School of Psychology at Australia’s Charles Sturt University who co-authored the study, said in an email at the time.
In November, TikTok blocked teenage users from using certain beauty filters after it commissioned a report that found young people could be affected by filters that change their appearance.
As of Tuesday, when TikTok users search for videos with the chubby filter, they are met with a “no results found” page. Trying to use the filter on CapCut also leads to an error message.
“The phrase may be associated with behavior or content that violates our guidelines,” the message from TikTok reads. “Promoting a safe and positive experience is TikTok’s top priority.”
Previously, according to CNET, users were met with a disclaimer at the top of the search results that read: “You are more than your weight. If you or someone you know has questions about body image, food, or exercise — it is important to know that help is out there and you are not alone. If you feel comfortable, you can confide in someone you trust or check out the resources below. Please remember to take care of yourselves and each other.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, contact The National Eating Disorders Association at 1-800-931-2237 during select hours, text NEDA to 741741 at any hour in a crisis, or visit NEDA’s website.
Kalhan Rosenblatt, Saba Hamedy and Uwa Ede-Osifo contributed.
