FORNEY, Texas — Forney Independent School District officials say a social media trend of fake accounts representing school districts, fake student accounts, and posts encouraging riots and other violence are not just a local issue but are issues affecting schools throughout the nation.
FORNEY, Texas — Forney Independent School District officials say a social media trend of fake accounts representing school districts, fake student accounts, and posts encouraging riots and other violence are not just a local issue but are issues affecting schools throughout the nation.
This comes after the district learned students had been sharing a social media post encouraging other students to leave class and "riot," according to an email from the district to parents of one of the affected campuses.
The district says the post in question is the same post circulating across the nation and is not tied to Forney ISD or one of its campuses.
"People started talking about the post and confused it as being tied to our campus," read the email. "Several other schools and districts across the nation are having the same issue with this same social media post."
"Like a game of telephone, the message has been changed drastically from the original post of walking out of class to something more serious as students shared it," continued the email. "This is creating unnecessary hysteria and panic for our students."
Despite district officials believing the latest message to be fake and not related to the district, the Forney ISD Police Department is aware of the posts and has implemented additional safety measures.
After a previous TikTok challenge that circulated this past fall, districts are now seeing an in crease in the creation of fake accounts using school names and logos, according to the district.
"The fake accounts often feature insensitive and/or inappropriate postings and start rumors," continued the email. "This behavior does not represent the spirit of the Forney ISD community nor will it be tolerated within our schools."
The district is encouraging parents to talk to their children about the consequences of creating fake accounts — citing violations of the Student Code of Conduct, disciplinary action at school, possible legal action should posts include or lead to violence or harassment, and fines for use of the district's trademarks on their logos and school names.
The district says they are actively working with Instagram to identify the creators of some fake accounts.
"Thank you for your collective efforts in speaking with your student(s) about the importance of showing respect and kindness to others in all parts of their lives, and for reporting inappropriate behavior so that we can work together to resolve these matters," continued the email. "Together we can preserve the long-standing community and district pride that resonates throughout the Forney Family."