TikTok, one of the most popular social media platforms among school-aged youngsters, has previously been chastised for enabling individuals to submit short videos pushing them to unsafe, destructive, and illegal behaviours.
Washington:
As schools throughout the nation sent out notifications to parents on Friday, the FBI said it was investigating an apparent school shooting threat on the popular social media site TikTok.
Videos describing a “school shooting challenge” that spread on TikTok and other social media, alleging many school gun assaults and explosions around the nation on Friday, were dismissed by school districts and law officials.
There was no specific video that made a threat, according to TikTok, but rather others that addressed it as a rumour.
However, since the alleged threat occurred less than three weeks after the recent mass shooting at a US high school, which left four students dead in Oxford, Michigan, many schools sent out alerts to parents.
“There is a rumour going around that today would be a day of school assaults. The administration and DC Police are well aware of this and are keeping a careful eye on it “A school in Takoma Park, Washington, issued a warning to parents.
Even though they “do not think the threat to be genuine,” the Pennsbury School District in Pennsylvania informed parents that there will be greater police presence near school facilities.
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‘Alarmist warnings’
TikTok said it was looking into the matter, but that all it discovered were videos discussing the purported threat on its site, not a direct threat.
“We’ve looked everywhere for information that encourages violence in classrooms today, but we’ve come up empty-handed. We uncover videos addressing the myth and advising people to be cautious “It was said.
“Since local officials, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security have all determined that there is no real danger,” it added, “we’re trying to remove alarmist alerts that violate our misleading policy.”
“If we found any advocacy of violence on our platform, we would take it down and report it to the authorities.”
The danger is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“All possible threats are taken seriously by the FBI. We collaborate with our law enforcement partners on a regular basis to assess the veracity of any threats “In a statement, it stated.
TikTok, one of the most popular social media platforms among school-aged youngsters, has previously been chastised for enabling individuals to submit short videos pushing them to unsafe, destructive, and illegal behaviours.
The viral “Devious Licks” challenge video went viral earlier this year, encouraging kids to vandalise restrooms at schools and produce TikTok movies of it.
This resulted in a slew of relatively small incidents of school property damage around the nation.
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TikTok announced at the time that it was taking steps to delete videos and limit their dissemination in order to “discourage such conduct.”
So far this year, the Everytown for Gun Safety organisation has counted at least 149 school shootings, with 32 fatalities and 94 injuries.
The purported threat was rejected by Sandy Hook Promise, a nonprofit created in the aftermath of the 2012 horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
“On December 17, a nationwide TikTok challenge encourages school shootings. Gun violence is not a topic for pranks or comedy.
Threats must be treated seriously at all times “In a statement, they stated.