The image is called "acastro2008031777tikTok" and is on thecdn.vox-cdn.com.
Some schools canceled classes because of threats on TikTok.
Alex Castro is the illustrator for The Verge.
There are reports of threats made on TikTok and so school districts across the United States are cancelling classes on Friday, December 17th. The districts in California, Texas, Minnesota, and Missouri have said they will be closing down on Friday in response to that. In other districts, they plan to have a heightened police presence or email parents to let them know they are investigating the allegations.
There is no evidence that the threats are real. It is not clear how many people have seen a specific threat or a threat against their schools in particular, despite the fact that the districts and local police departments have heard about a trend referencing the possibility of shootings or bombings on December 17th.
A number of districts and law enforcement divisions have looked into it and don't think the threats are real. Baltimore County Public Schools wrote on their website that the threat originated in Arizona and was not credible. There have been no threats to any of the schools in Missouri. The Milford Exempted Village School District wrote to parents that there had been no credible threats. There are no known threats against New Jersey schools.
The safety of our children is our highest priority and we will work closely with law enforcement to keep them safe.
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Governor Phil Murphy is on December 16, 2021.
There are reports of threats on TikTok. Videos posted to TikTok warn others that they should skip school on December 17th due to threats of shootings or bombings, which seem to have prompted others to create similar videos. A new wave of videos have popped up with warnings based on both the supposed claims and the actual cancellation of some school classes.
TikTok has not found any videos that make specific threats. The company said in a statement that they had not found evidence of such threats coming from TikTok. TikTok said it is working with law enforcement to look into the warnings.
We handle rumors with seriousness, which is why we are working with law enforcement to look into warnings about potential violence at schools even though we have not found evidence of such threats.
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December 16, 2021.
A school district in Little Falls, Minnesota, decided to cancel classes on Friday after being notified by the state's Department of Public Safety about "a TikTok trend that emerged targeting Friday, December 17, as a day of threats of shootings and bombings in schools." The Little Falls Community Schools website states that law enforcement determined that Little Falls was specifically identified in a TikTok post related to this threat, unlike other schools and school district that believe they haven't specifically been named.
The district did not say that they had seen the threat themselves.
The Little Falls district made the decision to cancel after consulting with law enforcement, according to Stephen Jones. Jones said that the threat was communicated to schools through students watching it on TikTok. The fact that the origin of the threat has not been determined has led us to be cautious and be proactive in keeping our kids and families safe.
A police department in California said it viewed a message threatening a school that included initials that were similar to a high school. The post was about a different high school in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles School Police Department determined that the person who posted it was not a credible threat. The police didn't say if the post was made on TikTok. The Los Angeles School Police Department did not respond to requests for more information.
School districts have dealt with dangerous rumors before. There was concern about a fake "slap a teacher" challenge. Some students followed through on a challenge that dared them to steal items from their school, though others were just pretending to do it.
