WASHINGTON — An anonymous threat circulating on the social media platform TikTok reportedly calls on students to commit acts of violence on Dec. 17. The threat, or “challenge” as some have referred to it, has warned against students attending class and does not name a specific school or district.
This is not the first disturbing “challenge” targeting students, educators, and their public schools to circulate on TikTok. In October, students were challenged to slap a teacher, prompting the National Education Association — which represents more than 3 million educators who teach in K-12 public schools, colleges, and universities — to call on the CEOs of Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok to intervene.
In response to the reported “National Shoot Up Your School Day” threat on TikTok, NEA President Becky Pringle issued the following statement:
“There is nothing more important than the safety of students and, as educators, we are committed to ensuring that schools are safe, welcoming, and nurturing communities for everyone. These types of threats and social media trends are very disturbing and in no way amusing. We are committed to supporting students, parents, educators, and districts to keep everyone safe. Public schools should be the safest places in any community.”
Follow on Twitter at @NEAmedia and @BeckyPringle
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The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing more than 3 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators, students preparing to become teachers, healthcare workers, and public employees. Learn more at www.nea.org.
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