Technologies

TikTok’s Sexy Affair With National Parks Isn’t Clickbait. It’s a Wake-Up Call

Social media thirst traps are spotlighting a funding crisis for public lands. And millions of people are paying attention.

National parks, gay country music and thirst traps have a lot in common, at least on the internet.

Hundreds of TikTok posts combining sexually explicit audio, comical memes and stunning views of nature have flooded social media feeds. The viral trend coincides with President Donald Trump’s unprecedented funding cuts targeting federal parks, forests, monuments, seashores and trails.

The message of #ParkTok and #MountainTok is G-rated: to conserve and protect public lands. The raunchy content is merely a wrapper to lure followers and get that message in front of as many people as possible.

At first glance, the TikTok fan accounts for Yellowstone and Joshua Tree — among dozens of other national parks, forests and recreation sites — appear to be competing in an unhinged brawl. Some commenters speculate that federal park rangers or marketing strategists have gone rogue to garner outside financial support.

But the unofficial accounts, which are growing in number daily, are run by independent content creators with no affiliation to the government. According to the National Park Service’s Office of Public Affairs, the NPS has no official presence on TikTok, as there are no terms of service between federal agencies and the platform.

“Viral trends focused on national parks can certainly boost park visibility and drive increased interest and awareness,” the National Park Service told CNET in an email. “We appreciate the enthusiasm for our nation’s parks and the creative ways individuals share their experiences online.”

And millions of social media followers say they’re here for it. Promoting the country’s vast landscape and its preservation for future generations could serve as a kind of spiritual uplift in dark times.

Nature is sexy; budget cuts aren’t

Far beyond the racy adult content, there’s a unifying purpose to posting videos of cascading waterfalls, colossal trees, seductive deserts and enchanting wildlife.

Researchers have noted that national parks are key to conserving biodiversity and supporting people’s well-being. And it seems everyone, not just nature nerds, can get behind these public lands: US national parks saw a record number of recreation visits last year, nearly 332 million.

“If you actually love all this stuff, you get attached to that beauty,” said Kim Tanner, the creator of the Joshua Tree fan account. “And then you realize you don’t want that beauty damaged.”

The Trump administration’s 2026 budget plan includes slashing more than $1 billion from the National Park Service. It also threatens to axe a whopping $33 billion from national recreation management programs and conservation and preservation grants. The grants are critical to maintaining 433 individual areas of public lands covering more than 85 million acres, which are managed by the NPS.

The National Parks Conservation Association says the White House’s budget reductions are the largest proposed cuts to the National Park Service in its 109-year history and could “decimate at least 350 National Park sites.” Many have said Trump is laying the groundwork to sell off public lands and turn recreational areas over to state-level management.

According to Kristen Brengel, senior vice president of government affairs for the National Parks Conservation Association, the NPS has already lost nearly 2,500 employees, or nearly 13% of its staff, in what she calls a “brain trust exodus” of environmental experts.

“What’s happening right now, in trying to dismantle the National Park Service from the inside out, is more horrific than anything we’ve seen before,” Brengel told me.

Getting wild for the wild

TikTok is controversial, and so is sex. That’s precisely why trends like these have political capital, capable of attracting admirers and haters, and bringing everyone else into the conversation.

“The polarization on social media is reflective of our real-life political polarization,” said CNET social media reporter Katelyn Chedraoui.

The #ParkTok and #MountainTok creators, some of whom are former park employees, are all nature lovers who span the political spectrum. Many of the accounts openly denounce the administration’s threats against the parks and direct viewers to demonstrations or fundraisers, but the trend isn’t overtly partisan or activist-driven.

“Most of their posts work on a subconscious level, prompting viewers to think about the national parks and their own experiences with them,” said Chedraoui. “It’s simple but effective.”

In fact, the TikTok engagement around public lands originated before the budget cuts to the parks. The first three fan accounts — Mount Hood, Mount Rainier and Yellowstone — appeared right after the elections last November. Managed by three friends who are avid outdoor enthusiasts, the accounts put up posts early on that were a mix of comic relief and wilderness awe.

There wasn’t much thirst trap content then. “It was just waterfalls and vistas and sunsets,” said Jaime Wash, the creator behind the Mount Hood and Mount St. Helens fan accounts. Then, two of the creators started trolling each other, and folks loved it.

It was fake beef, but the diss-track template became a winning strategy. By January, the trend started picking up speed, with more fan accounts joining the fray. Over the last several months, the popularity of the posts has seen ebbs and flows — until fairly recently, when all of #MountainTok and #ParkTok blew up for their risqué content.

Private parts in public lands became a magic formula, a kind of viral virility, that the creators knew how to play up.

“Social media users are very used to brands acting unhinged on TikTok,” said Chedraoui.

A bridge over troubled water

Some critics have slammed the parody accounts, accusing creators of trying to monetize a legitimate cause, or claiming that the sexually charged content damages the parks’ reputations.

But according to the creators, who collaborate regularly in a group chat, making money wasn’t, and never will be, their intention. Wash told me that if at any point they do collect a payout for the content, they plan to donate the funds to the parks.

After gaining such a huge following, Wash said, she felt it was her responsibility to get people involved. In April, the Mount Hood fan account brought out followers to Portland’s Hands Off protest.

“We’re building a community to show that things aren’t helpless, that change can happen and we’re there for each other,” Wash said. And besides raising the alarm, the posts add comic relief and entertainment to a daily cycle of doomscrolling and anxiety.

Tanner told me that #ParkTok and #MountainTok can open people’s eyes, showing how fragile nature really is. By highlighting endangered animals and the environmental damage from logging, drilling and mining, the posts can help millions of followers understand what’s really at stake.

The stunning power of social media

Social media acts as a cultural barometer, unveiling public sentiment in real time and broadcasting issues that most resonate. Platforms like TikTok also give grassroots movements a megaphone, allowing everyday people to bypass traditional media filters and speak directly to broad audiences.

“We’ve seen digital action lead to tangible action,” said Sheila Nguyen, associate director of communications and engagement for the National Parks Conservation Association. “The more people who see that social media content, the bigger the pool of people who may speak up and the more collective impact we can have,” Nguyen told CNET in an email.

In fact, social media publicity has been shown to boost national park visitation. A 2024 research study found that positive social media posts that include photos or videos drive the biggest increases in visitation.

“The more people we can get into these parks, the better. That way, they can experience it firsthand, see it, fall in love with it, and then want to protect it,” said Tanner.

The National Parks Conservation Association urges people to sign up for alerts on its advocacy page so they can raise concerns with congressional representatives.

“We feel that Congress is the best option right now to get the administration to back off of these bad proposals,” said the NPCA’s Brengel. “Congress needs to be pushed to stop some of these terrible actions.”

Many TikTok creators I spoke with also said they’re advocating ways to hold elected officials accountable.

“It’s heartbreaking to think the places that I absolutely love may never be the same again,” said Wash, “and I want to do anything to stop that.”

Technologies

25 years after 9/11, the U.S. starts rolling back travel restrictions, from liquids to gate access

Years after 9/11, the U.S. government is walking back some security screenings as threats and technology evolve.

The Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks reshaped how we travel, from how we pack our toiletries to what we wear when we fly. Airport checkpoints for almost a quarter century for most travelers have meant shoes off. Limitations on liquids. And no tearful, cinematic gateside farewells or joyful welcomes.

But 25 years later, the U.S. government is starting to ease some of the restrictions, which include measures that were tied to other attacks attempted in the months after 9/11.

Last year, the Department of Homeland Security, which was formed after the attacks, said flyers can leave their shoes on at airports, a major change for travelers going through regular security.

That rule was introduced after Richard Reid, who became known as the “shoe bomber,” tried and failed to ignite explosive material in his shoe on a Paris-to-Miami flight in December 2001.

Rules for liquids are officially unchanged. Those regulations for liquids in carry-ons stem from 2006, when British officials foiled a plot to bring liquid explosives on flights.

New scanners installed at some airport checkpoints allow travelers to leave liquids in their bags before going through screening, though availability varies by airport and checkpoint. Limits on liquid container size remain in effect.

“The technologies today are better than they were a long time ago and some of the technology that’s been deployed is better than it was five years ago,” said Jeff Price, a professor at the Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Department of Aviation and Aerospace Science and an airport management consultant.

Another change since that era is the number of options customers have for airport screening. The Transportation Security Administration, for $76.75 covering five years, offers PreCheck, in which travelers undergo prescreening services and can use expedited screening lanes.

“If you’ve got a few bucks, yeah, you can reduce the amount of screening and jump the line,” Price said. “The other side of that is when you do become a member of PreCheck, you give up a lot more of your personal data to the government, and that’s the trade-off.”

There’s also a private option with Clear, with a shorter identification check line, in exchange for prescreened biometric data.

Gate greetings return

The new changes are going beyond security.

TSA this week launched a free program allowing eligible trusted travelers, including TSA PreCheck members, to apply for access to secure gate areas without a boarding pass.

The program is called “Gateside,” and the agency has rolled it out at 13 U.S. airports, including Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and Salt Lake City International Airport.

The area beyond TSA screening has been heavily restricted since 9/11. In launching the program, the agency said PreCheck members who use the program can “meet family members at their gate, join a friend on a long layover for lunch or dinner, visit airport dining and shopping locations, or greet service members returning from deployment.”

Participants must apply online one to three days in advance and receive approval before entering through security.

Privatization attempt

Some of the tweaks to security have been more rocky.

The TSA late last month scrapped a program it called TSA Gold+ that would provide privatized security at certain airports.

The new head of TSA, David Cummins, who took the top role in early August, said that a new screening partnership program will “replace TSA Gold+ to better harness the role of the private sector in delivering a safer, more secure, and more efficient aviation system.”

TSA didn’t respond to requests for further comment.

Tampa International Airport in Florida had reviewed the program starting in May, in part because it could shield the airport from the impact of government shutdowns, airport Chief Operating Officer John Tiliacos told reporters last month. Those shutdowns left TSA officers without regular paychecks for months, and staffing shortages led to long lines at airports around the country. The chance to add new technology was also a draw.

Tampa decided not to move forward with the program, and TSA announced its replacement shortly after. Tampa’s Tiliacos told reporters last month “we weren’t quite satisfied that we were getting all of the answers to our questions regarding the technology” and that drove the airport’s decision to opt out.

Evolving threats

While some rules travelers have lived with for decades might be fading, the aviation sector is still dealing with changing threats.

“You have AI. You’ve got cybersecurity issues that continue to pop up. Drones are a major issue,” said Keith Jeffries, vice president of aviation security company K2 Security Screening Group, who is retired from the TSA and was the agency’s security director at Los Angeles International Airport. “It’s the role of security and protecting, especially the transportation sector, it’s getting broader, and other technologies are trying to keep up.”

As security technology evolves, so does the energy of potential attackers to overcome whatever obstacle they have and send their message.

Deterrents are important, but Jeffries said: “There is no such thing as the perfect security mousetrap. It doesn’t exist.”

Technologies

Houthis reportedly advance to key Red Sea island, further threatening crucial oil choke point

The advance raises the threat to shipping near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a waterway that connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden to global markets.

The Iran-backed Houthis reportedly advanced to Yemen’s strategic Perim Island on Friday, delivering a major boost to the militant group’s push to take control of one of the world’s most important shipping choke points.

The capture of Perim Island, which was reported by several news agencies, citing multiple Yemeni government sources, comes just one day after the Houthis seized Yemen’s port city of Mokha on the Red Sea coast. CNBC could not independently confirm the report.

The rapid ground offensive is seen as a severe setback to Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni forces it backs and puts Iran and its proxies on course to exercise control over two critically important oil choke points on either side of the Arabian Peninsula: the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Strait of Hormuz.

Perim Island is a small and rocky area of land that divides the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a waterway that connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and to global markets.

There are concerns that the Houthis’ advance toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait could have significant ramifications for global trade, particularly if the militant group ratchets up threats or attacks on Red Sea shipping.

The Houthi advance prompted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to personally press President Donald Trump for U.S. military intervention, MS NOW reported later Friday, according to a person familiar with the conversations.

The crown prince spoke with Trump twice Thursday and urged him to strike the Iranian-backed group as it closed in on the Bab el-Mandeb. Trump declined, saying the U.S. does not plan to widen its regional military campaign to include the Houthis, according to the person, who was granted anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the conversations. Axios first reported the calls.

A senior administration official told CNBC the U.S. remains focused on protecting core national security interests, including freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, “while empowering our regional partners to take the lead in managing and resolving regional security challenges.”

The official added that the U.S. is “in continuous dialogue with Saudi Arabia.”

The capture of Mokha marked a “major blow” to Saudi Arabia as it raises the possibility of the group exerting a tighter grip on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, according to Hamish Kinnear, principal Middle East and North Africa analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.

Mokha is situated about 75 kilometers (46 miles) north of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

“The Houthis were already threatening Saudi shipping from previous positions, but their capture of Mocha opens up the possibility of further advances towards the Bab el-Mandeb coastline and a tighter grip on the chokepoint,” Kinnear said in a research note.

As the war continues, Kinnear said both Tehran and Washington believe time is on their side, making a new truce unlikely for now.

“Oil and gas prices, and more specifically refined products such as diesel, will continue to tick upwards while that remains the case – even if US convoys and Strait of Hormuz export alternatives cushion the price impact,” Kinnear said.

The strategic importance of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait has grown significantly since the start of the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran in late February, with the waterway emerging as an alternative route for crude moving toward Asia.

What next for oil prices?

Oil prices traded sharply lower on Friday, but both major benchmarks could still end the week above $100 per barrel for the first time since mid-May.

International benchmark Brent crude

The resilience of the oil market is being tested by a clearer recognition of the mounting threat to regional supply, strategists at ING said, with energy market participants seen repricing both the duration and severity of the conflict.

Even as flows continue through the Strait of Hormuz, ING’s strategists said flows remain well below prewar levels, underlining how fragile the situation has become.

“Saudi energy infrastructure and crude oil exports from the Red Sea are increasingly at risk, with the Houthis in Yemen targeting Saudi Arabia,” ING’s Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey said in a research note published Friday.

“As the Houthis have taken control of the Red Sea port of Mokha in Yemen, recent events increase the threat to shipping around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait,” they added.

— Luke Fountain contributed to this report.

Technologies

Wall Street firm believes the AI stock market boom is ‘nearing an end.’ Here’s why

Stretched earnings expectations, extreme concentration and surging equity issuance point to growing bubble risks.

A range of equity market bubble indicators show that while the S & P 500 ‘s rally has further to run this year, its medium-term prospects look poor given how frothy the market has become, according to Capital Economics. “Most indicators suggest the AI equity boom is nearing an end,” Capital Economics’ senior market economist James Reilly said Thursday in a note. Capital has been more bullish than most on the stock market since mid-2023, reflecting a view that AI will be a transformative technology. Its year end-2026 S & P 500 forecast has consistently been above consensus. But the firm has also maintained that the AI-driven rally is a bubble that will eventually burst. To assess and spot a late-stage market bubble, Reilly looks at eight indicators including valuations, earnings, index concentration, equity issuance and foreign interest in U.S. equities. Some of those measures are already at or near levels that preceded previous stock market peaks. The analysis shows that while market variables such as earnings expectations look consistent with a market top, others such as volatility and leverage look slightly less alarming. Earnings stand out as the biggest warning sign. Expectations for S & P 500 earnings growth are around levels seen only at the peak of the dot-com bubble, while long-term EPS growth forecasts have surged to a record high. According to Reilly, the heavy concentration of this expected growth in the tech sector means that any signs of weakness in the tech firms’ earnings will weigh heavily on the index. Other indicators are also flashing warning signs. Index concentration is around dot-com-era extremes, net equity issuance has turned positive and foreign ownership of U.S. stocks is at a record high. Reilly said another wave of IPOs and share sales could be particularly significant, since similar issuance booms have historically coincided with market peaks. “On past form, this suggests that the end of the bubble is just months away, rather than years,” he said. Measures of leverage are not yet alarming compared to other factors, though the analyst warns that they are heading in a “concerning direction.” While volatility metrics look consistent with a mid -stage bubble, Reilly notes that constituent -level volatility isn’t as extreme as it was near the end of the dotcom boom. “While we continue to think that the S & P 500 will rally from around 7,650 now to 8,250 by end-2026 , we ultimately forecast it to fall back to 6,500 by end -2027,” he wrote. Those assumptions would equate to 8% upside this year and a 21% slide in 2027.

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