Watermelon Filter Is Taking Over TikTok and Raising Money for Palestine

The Gist:

• The watermelon filter on TikTok is known as the "Filter for Good," and it was created to provide aid to Palestine.
• The filter, which uses colors from the Palestinian flag, is part of a reward program that gives money to the creator every time the effect is used.
• The creator will donate the money to relief organizations.

As the conflict in Gaza continues, many across social media are watching the conflict and are looking for ways that they can help. Now, thanks to a new filter on TikTok, there's a way to do that without even leaving your house. The watermelon filter looks like any other, but using it can actually help raise money for Palestinians.

As the watermelon filter becomes more popular, many users want to better understand where it comes from and whether it actually does as much good as those on TikTok claim that it does. Here's what we know.

The watermelon filter is a new filter that was just introduced to TikTok. The filter features three watermelon slices that cover the screen. To unlock it, you have to drag a slice of watermelon across the screen in a squiggly pattern, collecting seeds along the way. The filter is called the "Filter for Good." Many users who are using the filter claim that doing so also raises money for humanitarian relief in Gaza.

The filter was created by an AR creator known as Jourdan, who announced that they were creating the filter to raise money for Palestine. Thanks to TikTok's Effect Creator Rewards program, people who create effects that become popular on TikTok earn money every time the effects are used. Jourdan has created other effects in the past. All of the proceeds she makes from the "Filter for Good" will go to charities helping to provide relief in Gaza.

Jourdan explains in the video that in order for the effect to start earning those rewards, it needed 200,000 uses. The effect has long since passed that benchmark, and has now been used more than 6 million times. Jourdan has provided updates on the effect and the proceeds it has generated. In her most recent update, she says that the filter has generated more than $10,000 in revenue.

Although Jourdan has yet to donate the money from the effect, it seems like she is intent on doing so. In the meantime, the effect continues to spread across TikTok. While there are plenty of people with wildly differing opinions on the Palestinian conflict on TikTok, there are many users who want to find ways to help civilians in Palestine get relief from the relentless bombing they are experiencing.

The watermelon filter isn't the only way a person can help in that effort, but it's a remarkably easy one. What's more, posting a video with the watermelon filter and explaining what it's for can expand the potential audience and encourage other people to use the filter as well.