The Christmas tree was still up when my phone started to buzz. Colleagues who should have been enjoying their holidays were texting and calling to tell me that a malicious TikTok account had been created, targeting staff in my school.
The anonymous postings included abusive comments superimposed over photographs of our teachers taken from the school website.
These included remarks about personal appearance, repeated allegations of paedophilia, including a fake news report, and a mocked-up image of a senior leader being hanged.
Reporting social media content
I immediately reported the content to TikTok as a community guidelines violation, as per their statement that “harassing, degrading, or bullying statements or behaviour” are not allowed on the platform. I was confident that the posts would be removed, the only concern I had was how long it would take.
The response took 30 minutes. It stated: “No violations found: We’ve reviewed the video you reported and found that it doesn’t violate our Community Guidelines.”
I read it again. How could that be so? My colleagues had received identical replies.
There was a growing sense of panic as we realised that TikTok was not going to remove this defamatory content. I reported the accounts several more times and was met with the same confounding reply.
More on TikTok:
I contested the decision on the app and requested a review. Again, I was confident this would bring the matter to a close. Perhaps a review would bring this to the attention of a real person? But the review was rejected as it had found no community guidelines had been broken. This was despite the fact that, very clearly, the law had been broken.
The end of the holidays had been ruined. When we returned to school for Inset, the unease and embarrassment was palpable. And another account had been created. More and more posts went up. Staff were checking to see if they were next.
TikTok simply would not remove the content when it was flagged using the app. I felt powerless, and unable to protect my staff. I also found many other “school hate” accounts on TikTok that targeted English secondary schools. Clearly, this is a national problem.
TikTok hate: how to respond
Our pupils returned to school the next day. News of the accounts had spread and the consciences of our wonderful young people were activated. We were quickly informed by pupils which of their peers had created the accounts. When asked about it, they admitted their roles, voluntarily deleted the material and deactivated the accounts.
Their parents were hugely supportive of our response, which included significant sanctions and an educational programme designed to ensure that they understood the impact of their actions.
When the relief subsided, it was replaced by anger. TikTok had been no use whatsoever.
Unfortunately, young people will misuse social media and the impact of these malicious communications can be significant. It is vital that social media companies police their own sites.
I contacted TikTok and asked why they had not removed the allegations of paedophilia. They did not reply.
I also asked TikTok for guidance on how to report such instances in the future. They advised that if you find TikToks targeting members of staff, to do the following:
Report on TikTok
Follow the procedure and report the content violations on TikTok.
Report to Posh
Contact the . This is a free and independent helpline for teachers and others working with children in the UK.
The UK Safer Internet Centre, which runs the helpline, is part of TikTok’s dedicated Community Partner Channel. Posh liaises directly with TikTok’s Trust and Safety team and handles reports of community guidelines violations on behalf of the educator community.
It is revealing of the scale of this issue that such a helpline exists, and it is disappointing that TikTok’s internal procedures are not robust enough to handle routine complaints without being buttressed by such a helpline.
However, I hope that knowing Posh is able to help will reduce the stress and anxiety felt by teachers who experience the cruelty of these “school hate” accounts.
Robert Pepper is head of school at Ryedale School
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