Viral social media rumors affecting students, school districts
Courtesy of Dayton Mix
Joshua Mix is shown with his little sister, Elizabeth, before leaving for school on his first day of eighth grade in the fall.
Carmichaels Area Middle-Senior High School
CARMICHAELS – Joshua Mix had no idea trouble was brewing at his middle school until he and his family were roused from their sleep early last Monday by police officers knocking on the door of their Cumberland Township home asking to search for weapons.
The Carmichaels Area eighth-grader had unknowingly become entangled in a vicious rumor that spread like wildfire on social media last weekend that he was planning to harm his fellow students.
The panic began the previous Friday when one student told others she had dreamed Joshua had attacked students at the school. He met with school officials and they quickly determined it wasn’t a credible threat. But it later spread online, eventually leading to students and even parents posting Joshua’s photograph on various social media sites labeling him as a danger to the school.
All the while, Joshua, an honors student who has never been in trouble with the law, was participating in music rehearsals and a Boy Scout Pinewood Derby race over the weekend. Police and school officials both deemed the tips to be unfounded.
He met last Monday with school officials, who considered him the victim in this situation and told him he would be kept safe from bullying. A Cumberland Township police officer escorted him to school Tuesday so he wouldn’t be a target of ridicule or threats by other students.
“I am doing all right at the moment,” Joshua said last week.
The hysteria came just a few days after 17 people were gunned down Feb. 14 in a school shooting in Parkland, Fla. Carmichaels Area School District was not alone in responding to supposed threats. Many other school districts across the area experienced similar rumors on social media in recent days, causing increased security.
It’s not a surprising phenomenon to Mary Jo Podgurski, director of Washington Health System’s Teen Outreach program. She tries to counsel young people on various issues facing them, including the dangers involved with social media.
“This is not a new message. Don’t post something that could cause someone damage,” Podgurski said. “If you wouldn’t put it on a billboard on I-79, then don’t put it online with your phone. For some reason, they seem to get that (message).”
She received numerous phone calls and texts messages in the 24 hours after the Florida school shooting. Podgurski suggested parents have an open and honest conversation with their children about the shooting, but also remain calm and reassuring. She was disappointed to learn adults shared photographs of Joshua on Facebook accusing him of planning something nefarious based only on rumors.
“Parents are over-involved in negative ways. Not all parents, but some,” Podgurski said. “This is all coming from fear. People feel powerless, frightened, and they don’t know what to do. They post before they think. Then things can go viral.”
At least six local school districts took extra precautions Monday and Tuesday.
In addition to Carmichaels, Bentworth, Canon-McMillan, Bethlehem-Center and Central Greene also increased security after social media rumors with unsubstantiated threats began to swirl. Ringgold locked down its schools Tuesday when a gun threat was made over social media. It later was determined to be directed at a school district in Georgia with the same name.
Central Greene Superintendent Helen McCracken warned students and parents about the dangers of spreading unsubstantiated rumors on social media after a SnapChat video was posted with a threat directed at Margaret Bell Miller Middle School in Waynesburg.
“We ask that you speak with your children about the power and appropriate use of social media,” McCracken wrote. “Also, ask them to bring any unusual issues to your attention, and/or to school staff and administration, and to not participate negatively online.”
The situation became so worrisome for Joshua’s family that his father, Dayton Mix, took to Facebook last Monday to push back on the rumors and tell his son’s side of the story.
“We are choosing to address this publicly since his name has been used publicly on social media in connection with this rumor,” Mix wrote.
Mix said they were concerned about what would happen when Joshua returned to school Tuesday. But many students welcomed him with open arms, Mix said.
“He’s doing well,” Mix said. “The kids are sharing story after story that, ‘I know Josh. He wouldn’t do that.’ And then they went to school anyway. They’re going out of their way to make him feel welcome.”
What children want now, Podgurski said, is an opportunity to share their thoughts on the issues that affect them, as illustrated by the survivors of the Florida shooting channeling their emotions into actions.
Podgurski’s local outreach center is responding by hosting a “Let’s Talk Series” from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday at Washington & Jefferson College to allow teens to discuss the shooting in Florida and what can be done to protect schools. The panel discussion will be led by teens, Podgurski said, and won’t be political.
“Young people, in my opinion, are a lot sharper than most adults give them credit,” Podgurski said. “They’re politically astute – on both sides – and these young survivors are going to protest because they feel helpless.”
To register for the discussion at W&J’s media room in the student union, or to be a teen facilitator at the event, contact Podgurski by email at podmj@healthyteens.com before Tuesday.