“Real-world harm”: Schools targeted by Libs of TikTok evacuated after reported bomb threats – By Areeba Shah (Salon) / Oct 7, 2023
Schools report threats after being named by right-wing social media account that pushes “groomer” propaganda
In the past month, the social media account “Libs of TikTok,” targeted around eleven schools or school districts over anti-LGBTQ+ grooming conspiracies. Shortly after these attacks, some of the targeted institutions received bomb threats, according to an investigation by Vice News.
Chaya Raichik, the individual behind the account, has employed right-wing “groomer” propaganda to target 42 school districts and their staff members. Her accusations have centered on false allegations of these institutions “indoctrinating” children into LGBTQ+ identities and exposing them to sexually explicit content, according to the report.
Of the 42 institutions that Vice reached out to, 11 schools or school districts reported receiving bomb threats while a majority didn’t respond. And only three school districts said that they hadn’t received bomb threats as a result of being featured in a Libs of TikTok post.
Although the school districts couldn’t definitively attribute the bomb threats to Raichik’s followers, the ones that did receive threats indicated a “disturbing pattern” – they received threats within five days of being featured in Raichik’s post, district officials told Vice.
