Some stories just beg to become viral. And it doesn't matter if it they are true.
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In late September 2021, schools across the US were reeling from the aftermath of the #deviouslicks TikTok trend that challenged teens to steal school property1 when administrators raised alarm bells about a new emerging TikTok trend, dubbed “slap a teacher.” On Facebook, parents, administrators, and police officers began sharing a list of unknown origin outlining 12 allegedly TikTok-inspired acts – one per month – that students would commit that school year. These included such challenges as flipping off the school office, kissing your friend's girlfriend, or making physical contact with a teacher.
There was no evidence that this challenge actually existed or was spreading on TikTok, a fact TikTok routinely emphasized. Still, confusion and fear spread in schools throughout the country. Worries were exacerbated by press coverage that connected real-world school violence with the alleged “slap a teacher” TikTok challenge, often without investigating the veracity of such claims. Facebook seized on the unfounded panic over rival TikTok to promote negative publicity about teens using the app, spurring more credulous news coverage of “slap a teacher” and more critical press against TikTok.
This case documents how a bit of viral spread by concerned adults and amplified by organic press coverage became a media manipulation campaign (in Stage 3 of the media manipulation life cycle) when one social media platform responded by exploiting the “slap a teacher” news cycle to its strategic advantage.
- The Life Cycle Method for Understanding Media Manipulation and Misinformation.