TikTok and School Violence Threats - KOAT News - December 17, 2021

TikTok threats of violence at schools across the country

On ABC’s affiliate KOAT News Afternoon Show in New Mexico, our director Lisa Honold spoke with reporter Nancy Laflin about the recent TikTok threats of gun violence at schools across the country.

While police departments around the country have said most of these threats were not credible, it is still traumatic and worrisome for parents and students alike. Some school districts decided to close schools to reduce the chance of violence in the last week of school before winter break.

Schools, law enforcement agencies, and the Department of Homeland Security are investigating these threats.

TikTok was left trying to reassure students and parents across the country that widely circulated warnings of possible gun violence in schools was "not a credible threat”.

When will TikTok be held accountable for the content on its platform that its own algorithm spreads to users?

And what about the kids? The ones that might be struggling with mental health right now.

"The more eyeballs, on this the more kids that see this, the more scared and anxious they are and it's almost giving permission to kids who might be struggling right now or they might be thinking about hurting themselves or hurting others - it’s giving them permission to think about bringing a weapon to school today," Lisa said.

She has suggestions when it comes to cell phones, social media and kids. It’s like we’re trusting kids to be safe and make good choices with a computer in their pocket that can access anything.

"First of all, don't let kids under 13 on any social media app," she said.

She said to make sure students are aware of the values and rules schools and law enforcement have when students are on social media, including the consequences of threatening violence.

Lisa said all this is taking a massive toll on the community — especially students, parents and educators.

"It's taking away from the real education we want our kids to get, all of this time that leadership is spending on online bullying and online threats and TikTok and trying to stay ahead of this they're putting out fires that they were not trained to put out and it's really hard hard work," she said.