(CNN Business) 周五，TikTok 对全国范围内的校园暴力事件发出了一个模糊且病毒式的趋势警告——当局认为该警告不可信——但导致学校大面积停课，执法资源捉襟见肘，并在关键的假期旅行季节到来之前让家庭处于紧张状态。
从明尼苏达州到德克萨斯州的许多学区宣布他们将在周五关闭学校，以回应一波视频，其中一些提到了特定学校，暗示学生避免在 12 月 17 日上课。在其他地区，法律执法部门处于高度戒备状态，为了预防起见，派警官守卫学校。
美国国土安全部周五上午表示，没有证据表明这些说法是可信的，但鼓励公众“保持警惕”。
TikTok 发言人希拉里·麦克奎德 (Hilary McQuaide) 周五上午告诉 CNN，虽然该公司知道其平台上可能存在校园暴力的模糊警告，但仍未发现任何可能引发病毒警告的原始、具体的暴力威胁。周四下午，该公司在推特上表示，它“甚至以最严肃的态度对待传闻中的威胁”。
TikTok 周五表示，它会继续监控其平台上的可疑活动，但补充说，将病毒趋势描述为校园暴力威胁的媒体报道可能会无意中鼓励那些可能倾向于采取行动的人——从而造成家庭所担心的风险。
该公司表示：“我们深切关注当地媒体对平台上未发现的所谓趋势的大量报道可能最终激起现实世界的伤害。”
一位联邦执法部门的消息人士对此表示同意，他告诉 CNN，当局最担心的是迅速展开的社交媒体叙事可能会促使一个单独的罪犯进行实际攻击。消息人士补充说，这种情况说明了美国当前的威胁环境。
消息人士说：“这说明社交媒体和其他通信平台如何在传播与威胁相关的叙述中发挥作用，然后可能导致需要在我们的关键基础设施内部和周围采取升级的安全措施。”
明尼苏达州 Little Falls 社区学校周四表示，在该地区“在 TikTok 帖子中明确指出”与警告趋势相关后，它将在周五抢先关闭。据当地媒体报道，德克萨斯州的考夫曼高中也取消了课程。在佐治亚州，亚特兰大公立学校在给家长的一封信中说，据当地报道，周五的一些设施将加强安全，而波尔克县的学校则完全关闭。
弗吉尼亚州夏洛茨维尔附近的阿尔伯马尔县公立学校在其 Facebook 页面上发布的一封信中表示，TikTok 趋势提醒人们不要分享有关校园暴力的帖子。
“即使它们不是可信的威胁，它们也会给我们的学生、家庭和教职员工带来很大的压力和焦虑，”信中写道。 “创建或分享此类帖子也可能导致刑事指控。我们要求我们的家人监控他们孩子的社交媒体活动，并与他们讨论网上的正确行为。”
虽然 TikTok 上似乎流传着许多关于潜在暴力的警告，但它并不是最近几天看到此类喋喋不休的唯一平台。根据新泽西州拉姆齐学校官员给家长的通知，Snapchat 上也出现了类似的信息。纽约市官员的一封信中提到了除 TikTok 之外“其他社交媒体”上的类似内容。
Snap 发言人表示，该平台正在密切关注 TikTok 的情况，但没有立即提供进一步评论。 Facebook 母公司 Meta 的发言人没有立即回应置评请求。
纽约市教育局局长梅莎·波特周五在给家庭的电子邮件中解决了社交媒体挑战，称这一挑战鼓励学生“打电话给炸弹威胁、学校枪击威胁等”。波特强调，这些威胁不仅仅针对纽约市，而且许多帖子都是笼统的，并非针对一所学校。
波特的电子邮件说：“任何涉及对学校社区的威胁或暴力行为的挑战的社交媒体帖子都不会被容忍。” “无论出于何种原因，暴力威胁都会产生非常真实的后果，我们不希望我们的年轻人因诸如此类的社交媒体挑战而危及他们光明的未来。”
波特鼓励看到针对特定学校的威胁的家庭拨打 911。
Sonia Moghe 为这个故事做出了贡献
Vague and viral TikTok warning of school violence is not credible but has schools and law enforcement on high alert
(CNN Business)A vague and viral TikTok trend warning of nationwide school violence on Friday — which authorities have dismissed as not credible — has nevertheless prompted widespread school closures, stretched law enforcement resources and put families on edge ahead of a critical holiday travel season.
A number of school districts in states ranging from Minnesota to Texas announced they were shutting down schools on Friday in response to a wave of videos, some mentioning specific schools, suggesting that students avoid coming to class on Dec. 17. In other areas, law enforcement were on high alert, sending officers to guard schools as a precaution.
The US Department of Homeland Security said Friday morning it has no evidence to suggest the claims are credible but encouraged the public to "remain alert."
Hilary McQuaide, a TikTok spokesperson, told CNN Friday morning that while the company is aware of vague warnings on its platform of possible school violence, it still has not found any original, specific threats of violence that may have prompted the viral warnings. On Thursday afternoon, the company tweeted that it treats "even rumored threats with utmost seriousness."
TikTok said Friday it continues to monitor its platform for suspicious activity, but added that media coverage characterizing the viral trend as a threat of school violence could unintentionally encourage someone who may be predisposed to act — creating the very risks that families fear.
"We are deeply concerned that the proliferation of local media reports on an alleged trend that has not been found on the platform could end up inspiring real world harm," the company said.
A federal law enforcement source agreed, telling CNN that authorities worry most that the rapidly unfolding social media narrative could drive a lone offender to carry out an actual attack. The situation is an illustration of the current threat environment in the United States, the source added.
"This is an illustration of how social media and other communication platforms play a role in spreading threat related narratives, which then can result in the need for escalated security measures in and around parts our critical infrastructure," the source said.
In Little Falls Community Schools in Minnesota said Thursday that it would preemptively close on Friday after the district was "specifically identified in a TikTok post" linked to the warning trend. Kaufman High School in Texas also canceled classes, according to a local media report. In Georgia, Atlanta Public Schools said in a letter to parents that some facilities would be beefing up security on Friday, according to local reports, while schools in Polk County closed altogether.
And in a letter posted to its Facebook page, Albemarle County Public Schools near Charlottesville, Va. said the TikTok trend is a reminder not to share posts about school violence.
"Even if they are not credible threats, they can cause a great deal of stress and anxiety for our students, families, and staff," the letter read. "Creating or sharing such posts can also lead to criminal charges. We ask our families to monitor their children's social media activity and speak with them about proper behavior online."
While many of the warnings of potential violence appear to be circulating on TikTok, it is not the only platform to see such chatter in recent days. A similar message has appeared on Snapchat, according to a notice to parents by school officials in Ramsey, New Jersey. A letter by New York City officials referred to similar content on "other social media" besides TikTok.
A Snap spokesperson said the platform is closely monitoring the situation on TikTok but did not immediately provide further comment. A spokesperson for Meta, Facebook's parent company, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
NYC Department of Education Chancellor Meisha Porter addressed the social media challenge in an email to families on Friday, saying the challenge encouraged students to "call in bomb threats, school shooting threats, etc." Porter emphasized the threats were not specific to only New York City and many of the posts are general and not specific to one school.
"Any social media posts of challenges involving threats or actions of violence against school communities will not be tolerated," Porter's email said. "Threats of violence have very real consequences regardless of the reason the threat was made, and we do not want our young people to jeopardize their bright futures over social media challenges such as these."
Porter encouraged families who see threats aimed at specific schools to call 911.
Sonia Moghe contributed to this story
