Williamson County Schools says students are spreading misinformation about school threats

Screenshot of a post on Tic Tok (Image by Williamson County Schools)

Williamson County Schools says misinformation on social media may be unnecessarily alarming parents.

Screenshot of misleading schools list (Image by Williamson County Schools

In an email sent to students’ families Thursday morning, the district explained that a list of “targeted” schools that students are spreading on social media sites like TikTok, isn’t a list of schools under threat of violence.

District Executive Director of Communications Carol Birdsong told parents in the email that the “targeted” schools identified in social media posts are actually part of a list created by the Georgia State Department of Education to identify schools that need improvement. Birdsong says the altered list of schools students are spreading does not reference any Williamson County school, even though some of the school names are the same.

The district also reports that there have been no threats to any schools in the district.

“Our administrators and law enforcement take all threats seriously. It is always important to report any concerns your child might have to the school administration and/or law enforcement. However, spreading false reports and rumors could hamper law enforcement’s ability to investigate any credible threat, so WCS and WCSO encourages you to please talk with your child about responsible social media use,” wrote Birdsong in the email to parents.

The district says students in other school districts across the state and nation are sharing similar misinformation about school threats.