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A clip of two men dancing unleashes a torrent of homophobic hatred in Ethiopia.

Members of Ethiopia’s LGBTQ+ community say they face a wave of online harassment and physical attacks and blame much of it on the social media platform TikTok, which they say is failing to take.

If these giggling, affectionate men acted this way – unabashedly, stereotypically gay – on the streets of Ethiopia's capital, they could be expelled, beaten up, fired, disowned, or jailed.

Authorities in Ethiopia have initiated a crackdown on the LGBTQ+ community. Rights activists have branded it a diversionary tactic in the wake of renewed violence across the country.

When a clip of two men dancing at a party in Ethiopia was posted to TikTok, it unleashed a torrent of homophobic hatred and eventually forced one of them to flee the country.

One nonbinary person said they are now in neighboring Kenya after they were attacked by a group of men in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, last month.

Seventy-six countries criminalize sexual activity by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, and 38 of them, including Ethiopia, are in Africa.

Authorities in Ethiopia have initiated a crackdown on the LGBTQ+ community. Rights activists have branded it a diversionary tactic in the wake of renewed violence across the country.