TikTok ‘blackout challenge’: what did coroner say at Archie Battersbee inquest and role of social media?

A coroner said he has seen no evidence that Archie Battersbee was taking part in an online blackout challenge before he died.

A pre-inquest review hearing also heard that police found messages on the 12-year-old’s phone reflecting “very low mood”. Archie’s life support was withdrawn on August 6 after his parents Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee failed in bids to overturn a High Court ruling that doctors could lawfully do so.

Doctors treating Archie at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London, thought he was brain-stem dead and said continued life-support treatment was not in his best interests.

Judges were told that mum Hollie had found Archie unconscious with a ligature over his head at home in Southend in Essex on April 7. She said she thought her son may have been taking part in an online challenge before he was found unconscious.

The ‘blackout challenge’ encourages people to film themselves hyperventilating until they pass out on social media, primarily on TikTok. The game essentially involves intentionally cutting off oxygen to the brain, which has been labelled as dangerous by professionals.

What did coroner and police say about TikTok ‘blackout challenge’?

But Essex’s senior coroner Lincoln Brookes, presiding over the hearing in Chelmsford on Tuesday, said there was “no evidence at this stage to substantiate the concern”. He also heard an update from an Essex Police officer, following a download of Archie’s phone, which found messages reflecting what Mr Brookes described as “very low mood”.

Hollie was in court while dad Paul listened into proceedings online. At the outset of the hearing, Mr Brookes told them: “May I offer my deepest condolences to the both of you and to the many members of Archie’s family who can’t be here today.”

Det Insp Sarah Weeks of Essex Police, reading from a colleague’s report, said Archie’s mother had been “concerned there was an online challenge going round and other young people could be at risk”. She said Hollie gave her consent for officers to download information from Archie’s phone, which had been taken in evidence on April 7, and police downloaded some information from the phone on June 13.

Det Insp Weeks said: “There are no photographs or videos on the download that suggest Archie was taking part in any online challenge.” She added: “There’s no evidence of Archie filming any videos on the day of the incident.”

She said that Archie accessed YouTube “regularly” and most of his search terms were about “MMA fighters, boxing or music videos”. “Most of his internet searches are in relation to his interests,” she said, including one for “how much do MMA fighters get paid,” she explained.

She said that Archie had the TikTok social media app on his phone and he was “using and accessing TikTok” on April 7, but there was “no evidence” to suggest he was taking part in an online challenge. The Det Insp said Archie’s phone had since been submitted for a “full forensic download”.

In a further update following this, Det Insp Weeks said: “There are a series of messages which reflect Archie’s mood. This has only been received this morning so we will look to prepare a full report.” The coroner, Mr Brookes, said: “It’s low mood we’re looking at here, very low mood.”

He added: “There’s no evidence at this stage to substantiate the concern, the fear of Hollie, about the choking challenge or the blackout challenge, whether on TikTok or frankly on any other platform or provider.”

What is the TikTok ‘blackout challenge’?

The ‘blackout challenge’ encourages people to film themselves hyperventilating until they pass out for social media, mainly on TikTok. The game essentially involves intentionally cutting off oxygen to the brain, which has been labelled as dangerous by professionals.

While the blackouts seen in the majority of videos may all appear to be quickly recovered from, there is a risk of lasting damage. Any activity that deprives the brain of oxygen has the potential to cause moderate to severe brain cell death leading to permanent loss of neurological function, lifelong mental disability, or even death.

According to the Daily Mail, one 12-year-old boy in the UK had to be “placed in an induced coma for 36 hours to prevent permanent damage” after he experienced severe pins and needles along with disorientation hours after doing the stunt. Then there are the indirect risks of performing the challenges, such as concussions from colliding with objects as you collapse to the floor.

Leon Brown, 14, was found dead in his room on the morning of 25 August, in Cumbernauld, Scotland, with mum Lauryn Keating saying Leon’s friends told her he had been taking part in the so-called ‘blackout challenge’ before he died.

TikTok said: “We do not allow content that encourages, promotes, or glorifies dangerous behaviour that might lead to injury, and our teams work diligently to identify and remove content that violates our policies.”

When is Archie Battersbee’s full inquest?

He said the topics that the full inquest will cover will include Archie’s medical cause of death and his “state of mind and his intentions on April 7 2022”. Tuesday’s hearing was told that Hollie had concerns about Archie being taken first to Southend Hospital instead of directly to the Royal London Hospital.

But the coroner said her lawyer “makes it clear this is a mother’s fears rather than anything that has an evidential basis behind it”. A full inquest, due to last one day, has been set for February 7 2023.