In a TikTok video from June 18, Erick Louis, a 21-year-old content creator and dancer in Orlando, Fla., nods and bounces along to Megan Thee Stallion’s latest single.
Seconds later, with his lips pursed, Mr. Louis flips two middle fingers at the camera and walks away.
By Thursday, the video had racked up 127,700 likes on TikTok and had spread rapidly on Twitter.
Megan Thee Stallion’s song lays out dance instructions plainly in the lyrics: Place your hands on your knees and twerk.
Some tweets suggested that Black creators on TikTok had seemingly agreed not to choreograph a dance to the song, which would force non-Black users to come up with dances on their own and prove how essential Black creators are to the platform.
It’s more of a symbolic awareness campaign that consists of an agreement not to dance to Megan Thee Stallion’s song.
It begins with the rapper calling a politician, alluding to the outrage spurred by “WAP,” her flamboyant single with Cardi B, released last summer.
“We are being exploited, and that’s the core issue Black folks have always had in terms of labor,” Mr. Louis said.
According to Li Jin, the founder of Atelier, a venture firm that invests in the creator economy, these tensions stem from systemic inequalities in the online creator industry.
“People realize these tech companies are worth so much, they’re valued so highly, and the tech C.E.O.s and employees are gaining so much wealth,” Ms. Jin said.
Kaelyn Kastle, 24, a Black content creator and member of the Collab Crib, said she wasn’t participating in the strike, but supports what it represents.
Ms. Kastle said that many of her peers who want to participate in a strike can’t because of the dip in engagement it may generate.
Even before the strike, dance trends on TikTok were declining, and the trends associated with many top audios have not included dances.
“There has to be a broader conversation about creators having equity in these start-ups,” said Isaac Hayes III, the founder and C.E.O.