This post was updated March 30 at 9:11 p.m.

While TikTok’s fate hangs in the balance in the United States, there is one nation not at all worried about its downfall: the island of Floptropica.

Floptok is an online community on TikTok that focuses on creating funny, absurd content based on hyperspecific memes and references to pop culture moments. Floptok creators create intense lore, such as the fictional nation of Floptropica, where Floptok users reside. They also dub famous characters and celebrities as “icons” within their community, including Ariana Grande, Peter Griffin and Jiafei Dai.

Floptok has become a massive success over the course of TikTok’s history. The hashtag #floptok has over 1 million posts on the platform and an accompanying 19.9 billion views, as of early 2024. The community even has a corresponding subreddit with over 4,000 users. Floptok bears many resemblances to other sides of TikTok; there are niche communities related to cooking, travel and nearly every TV show and movie you can think of. So, what makes Floptok different? The answer lies in its complete rejection of mainstream culture.

Floptok thrives on its over-saturated, emoji-filled content that almost no one outside of the community would understand. Its jokes about a young girl’s drawing of her mother’s hyperpigmentation, references to controversial internet star Trisha Paytas’ antics and a surprising amount of remixes of rapper CupcakKe’s songs. Some videos don’t even have a point. Instead, creators stitch together as many online memes as they can to make a video so specific you would need to do extensive research to understand it.

Floptok is unwavering in its content, refusing to bend to the rest of society. It stands tall in all of its absurdity, rather than feeling like it must conform to the rest of pop culture. The latest trend over the last few years within art and media has become authenticity – fans reward creators who look past the facade of social media and create work that is genuine to them. When artists lean into their own brands, they often find success outside of their own small communities. They are celebrated for their uniqueness by others who are discovering them for the first time.

A prime example of this is Charli xcx’s “BRAT.” When speaking about the viral moment “BRAT” had after its release in June 2024, Charli xcx explained to Apple Music that she was preparing herself for the album to be for her fanbase only, and yet, fans and non-fans alike embraced the album and turned it into a commercial and cultural phenomenon. Charli xcx’s ability to unapologetically lean into her hyperpop sound was rewarded when the rest of the world saw what her fans had seen long ago.

In the same way, Floptok finds its success in being unintelligible to the rest of the world. Rather than focusing on appealing to a wide audience throughout the app, Floptok users concentrate on creating content they enjoy, building inside jokes and stories that only true superfans would understand.

Floptok is resistant to normal trends. For example, rather than just talking about the “Wicked” movie, Floptok is creating content centered on Cynthia Erivo’s Target ad. They poke fun at her correcting a customer in the commercial, telling him, “That’s my line,” before belting out Elphaba’s iconic battle cry from “Defying Gravity.” There is no clear logic as to why that moment became a meme, but that is the beauty of Floptok. As users hold space for these silly little clips, a simple moment turns into a shared experience for millions, and that becomes part of a community’s larger lore.

Floptok is a safe haven for those who love chaotic, obscure humor based on online references. While TikTok does have other communities, those groups are focused on a specific topics. Oftentimes, these online spaces are overtaken by content creators and influencers who look to become experts on the subject and command the space. Every few months, new fitness influencers pop up, each touting a different workout method or diet plan to help TikTokers reach their ideal bodies. As a result, the fitness and wellness space on TikTok is overrun with contradictory information that leaves regular users confused and divided.

Floptok avoids this by focusing on uplifting humor and memes rather than specific creators. The community is run not by specific leaders but by every individual’s contribution, specifically through interactions with posts and the creation of new jokes.

This small online group is the final boss of creating community where none exists. In a world that is becoming increasingly fragmented over numerous issues, all we crave is a few other people who get our jokes and make us laugh. Floptok encourages its members to reject the mainstream and embrace oddities, providing a safe space for all to congregate and bond over shared interests.

The epitome of TikTok’s unique ability to bring people together, Floptok serves as a reminder that there is a place out there for all of us social media users to thrive, a haven where no joke ever flops.