TikTok is currently working on removing the alarmist warnings about a school shooting that supposedly happened on Friday, the 17th of December. And, being a TikTok, of course, people started some kind of challenge. Some districts even canceled classes on Friday, as they were not sure whether the threats were real or not.
The company stated that the warnings violated the misinformation policy. This policy prohibits the spread of hoaxes, which look real. TikTok looked for the content, but could not find anything about promoting violence on that Friday.
The platform stated on Twitter: “What we find are videos discussing this rumor and warning others to stay safe. Local authorities, the FBI, and DHS have confirmed there’s no credible threat, so we’re working to remove alarmist warnings that violate our misinformation policy.” They want to both remove and report any threats, saying that they are concerned about all of the reports on this trend that is, apparently, nowhere to be found, and that could inspire others to do real harm.
1/ Update: we've exhaustively searched for content that promotes violence at schools today, but have still found nothing. What we find are videos discussing this rumor and warning others to stay safe.
— TikTokComms (@TikTokComms) December 17, 2021
Many schools across the US were on alert on Friday, after some alleged threats were made on TikTok. And not only on TikTok, but also on other social media platforms and they also made a story about it on the local tv news stations. Districts closed their schools on Friday, others asked for the police to be present at all times, and all parents were notified. Police departments and district officials stated they heard about a trend on shootings or bombings on the 17th of December, but it was never clear how many threats were there, or where they planned to do it.
