Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

TikTok school abuse: Teachers quitting over paedophile slurs

TikTok school abuse: Teachers quitting over paedophile slurs

Some teachers are leaving the profession after being labelled paedophiles on TikTok, a union says.

A craze on the social media app has seen children share videos of staff with inappropriate hashtags and comments and, sometimes, superimposing their faces onto pornography.

A Swansea Valley school said it called the police after staff were secretly filmed and labelled #paedo on the app.

TikTok said it had no place for hateful behaviour, bullying and harassment.

Gemma Morgan, assistant head teacher at Cwmtawe Community School, Pontardawe, said a fake school TikTok account had been set up.

'Very upsetting'


It contained edited videos of virtual parents' evenings and lessons, as well as covert filming of staff that had been uploaded and doctored.

"They had edited them, put hashtags over the top, they created memes… there were several hashtags with 'paedo'," she said.

Assistant head teacher Gemma Morgan said parents had been proactive and sought support to educate themselves


"Some members of staff had been filmed discreetly within classrooms."

She said there were "extremely derogatory comments" and "very bad language".

"In all honesty, things that were of great concern and we engaged with the local police."

The situation had been "very upsetting" for staff, she said.

"Especially for the families of these members of staff… it's a massive, massive concern."

"Quite cruel'


Helen Jones, head teacher at Maesteg Comprehensive School in Bridgend, said footage of her teachers had been used to create memes, some of which had been "relatively innocent".

"But where they have been unpleasant it's been quite cruel and it's easy to be cruel when the account holder is anonymous," she said.

Helen Jones said she did not want to see children's behaviour criminalised


She said the "implication and nuances" of one meme suggested the teacher in question was a paedophile.

"Those sorts of things are causing great upset and distress," she said.

She said everyone had been exhausted by the pandemic and both staff and pupil absence was at an "all time high".

Neither school has excluded students but had focussed on educating pupils and parents.

"I don't think they realise the consequences of their actions, at the end of the day they're still children," said Ms Jones.

Neil Butler says parents must understand their children's behaviour could result in them being arrested


NASUWT's National Official for Wales Neil Butler said the craze was having a "huge detrimental impact on the wellbeing of teachers in schools across the UK".

"We have examples of teachers going off on sick, on stress, we have examples of teachers leaving the profession, which of course is the greatest worry - we can't afford to lose experienced teachers from the classroom," he said.

"It's the last straw really - it was bad enough what they had to go through during the pandemic.. and now [they're] having to face this."

He said he had seen one post encouraging pupils to hit a teacher.

"We will ensure that the full force of the law - if the law is broken - is brought to bear, because we have to protect our members," he said.

'Squalid and sorry affair'


Eithne Hughes, Cymru Director at ASCL union, said she had also seen examples of racial slurs and teachers accused of having affairs.

"It is just horrible nasty dreadful stuff," she said.

Eithne Hughes wants to see more action from TikTok


"Teachers are looking over their shoulders... it's been a very squalid and sorry affair.

"It's cruel and unnecessary and the profession should not have to put up with it frankly."

She said complaints to TikTok had been met in one of two ways: "No response at all, or that it does not violate TikTok's own protocols, which is extraordinary."

She said after talks with the company they still needed to do more: "We don't need nice words, we actually need some action," she said.

Mrs Morgan said TikTok had taken "a long time" for the videos to be taken down.

Ms Jones, said they had received "quite a quick response" from TikTok, adding it had had provided useful generic advice to the school's media marketing manager.

"I'm well aware of the lack of speed other schools have reported," she added.

A spokeswoman for TikTok said: "We are crystal clear that hateful behaviour, bullying and harassment have no place on TikTok.

"We regret the distress caused to some teachers as a result of abusive content posted to our platform."

She said the company had deployed additional technical measures and guidance and continued to "proactively detect and remove violative content and accounts".

She said the partner had partnered with the Professional Online Safety Helpline (POSH) to provide teachers with an additional way to report content and written to every school in the UK to ensure all staff had access to the resources they need.

Mr Butler said a letter has gone from his union's general secretary to the education minister of each UK nattion and called for action from the Welsh government

"I don't think any government is doing enough on this," he said.

'Completely unacceptable'


"The Welsh government has overarching control of education in Wales, it is becoming an extremely serious issue, so we would like now to see a more robust response from them to this issue."

The Welsh government said: "It is completely unacceptable that teachers are being targeted with abuse on social media."

It said it had asked TikTok to remove any instances of inappropriate or offensive content immediately and advise affected staff to report any instances directly to TikTok and contact POSH.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz: “The Current Welfare State Can No Longer Be Financed”
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
Wizz Air passengers screamed as storm-battered flight diverts to Bologna
European postal services halt U.S. deliveries after Trump imposes new tariffs
Urban explorer finds abandoned luxury restaurant left to decay
Fidesz leader labels Péter Magyar a ‘bluffer’ amid escalating political spat
French rope park operator arrested for denying entry to Israeli children
Újpest thrashes Zalaegerszeg 4-1 to secure first win in five matches
Profit-margin cap costs retailers 13 billion forints a month, warns trade group
Curiosity rover finds coral-like rock on Mars hinting at watery past
U.S. green policy rollback drives investors to Europe’s sustainable finance market
Special funerals rise in Hungary: boat, aerial and forest burials gain popularity
Hungary’s Kiskunság region turning into semi-desert after extreme drought
Kopasz Bálint wins world kayak 1000 m title in Milan, making him triple world champion
Budapest’s Keleti railway station to close for four weeks for track overhaul
Balaton could be unfit for swimming by 2035 and dry by 2050, scientists warn
Leaked guidelines show Meta’s AI allowed flirty and racist interactions with children
Filming of ‘Emily in Paris’ halted after assistant director dies on set
Filipino guest workers sue after Hungary moves to deport them for pregnancy
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
A monster hit and a billion-dollar toy empire
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
Canada: Nurse Suspended and Fined 93 Thousand Dollars After Stating the World’s Most Well-Known Fact Since the Creation of Adam and Eve, That There Are Only Two Genders
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
U.S. Treasury Secretary Whitney Bessent Backs Stablecoins to Boost Treasury Demand
Spain to Declare Disaster Zones After Massive Wildfires
Three-Minute Battery Swap Touted as Future of EVs
Beijing Military Parade to Showcase Weapons Advances
×