In recent years, traders in west Africa have used social media to advertise wild meat directly and connect with customers. Platforms like TikTok and Facebook act as online storefronts linked to physical markets, enabling sellers to reach much larger audiences than they would have by selling at traditional stalls. This change is bringing new, often urban, buyers into the market and altering how wild meat is sold and the overall scale of the trade. A screenshot of a wild meat TikTok channel. Supplied We are wildlife researchers studying the trade in wild animals in west Africa. We wanted to understand the emerging challenges in Togo's wild meat trade. We chose to study TikTok videos because the platform has become a highly visible hub for openly advertising wild meat in Togo. Analysing these videos gave us the opportunity to document which species were being sold, their market value, and the related conservation risks.