Moroccan Activists Target TikTok ’Sorcerers’ in Anti-Fraud Campaign

Human rights activists and civil society actors call for the fight against charlatans and sorcerers who have made TikTok their new workplace where they offer their services. They threaten to prosecute them in court, as their activities are considered a cybercrime on par with fraud and scam. They also denounce the methods of promoting their services and their alleged abilities to change people’s lives, including the dissemination of advertisements that sell illusions to their subscribers. The latter are numerous to request their services. 86% of Moroccans believe in the existence of jinns, 78% in magic and witchcraft, and 7% seek ways to ward off evil and attract luck, according to the American "Pew Research Center".

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In Morocco, the competition in sorcery and charlatanism activities has caused the rate of crimes such as murder, blackmail and rape to skyrocket. And the Moroccan authorities have not remained passive. Several individuals have been brought to justice for fraud, scam, sexual harassment, defamation and illegal practice of medicine.

Considered an act of fraud and scam according to the Moroccan Penal Code, sorcery is repressed in Morocco. The law provides for a fine for persons practicing divination, predicting the future or interpreting dreams. In the eyes of the law, it is a third-degree offense. Penalties for assaults resulting in immediate or long-term death, or for the provision of recipes and substances that have led to poisoning, can go up to the death penalty. Criminal professionals of these practices on social networks, who exploit and recruit their victims for profit, are exposed to a prison sentence of 1 to 5 years.