TikTok says US school shooting threats not credible

Social media company TikTok has said a viral trend threatening violence at US schools on Friday was not credible.

Classes were cancelled and security beefed up at a number of schools after posts warning about shootings and bomb attacks started circulating.

"We've exhaustively searched for content that promotes violence at schools today, but have still found nothing," TikTok wrote on Twitter.

The FBI and local authorities also confirmed the threats were baseless.

Schools in many states including Washington, California, Texas, Minnesota, New York and Pennsylvania acted in response to the perceived security concerns.

One school in Georgia said extra security would be at the school, but added that parents could keep their children at home if they were still concerned.

In its statement, TikTok said it had only found videos discussing the rumours and urging others to say safe - not direct threats. It said it was "working to remove alarmist warnings that violate our misinformation policy."

The company also said it was "deeply concerned" that the widespread media reports "based on rumours rather than facts... could end up inspiring real world harm."

Multiple police departments posted on social media saying they had no evidence that the threats were genuine or credible.

There were some arrests, however. In Washington state, the Sedro-Woolley police department wrote on Facebook that it had detained two people in relation to threats made to students.

"We will have an Officer stationed at some of the schools to assist in reassuring everyone that the kiddoes are safe," the post said.

Analysis by Mike Wendling, BBC Trending

By all accounts, this story began as nothing more than a prank, with little indication that children or teachers were at risk.

There's some question about whether, in this case, any threats were posted on the TikTok platform at all. But it's also clear that after a rumour goes through a few hundred iterations, it's usually detached from reality.

And of course adults hearing about such material don't always get all the nuances of the newest social media platforms, or are able to trace original sources.

On the other hand, school shootings are a regular feature of American life, and some recent viral rumours have been extremely dark, even if untrue.

Recently there have been concerns about a so-called "slap a teacher" day, a completely baseless QAnon rumour that shut down a school fundraiser, and the macabre "Blue Whale" challenge, which included themes of suicide and self-harm.

None of these rumours resulted in much damage at all, but there's always the possibility that when challenges or threats go viral, even if they lack truth, there may be copycats out there and real-world harm could result.