American and Israeli parents said they received messages from schools, temples, synagogues and peer groups urging them to remove social media applications from their children’s phones in the wake of the Hamas terrorist attacks.
The warning came after Hamas’ military wing threatened to kill Israeli hostages and broadcast their executions “in audio and video” every time Israel “targets” civilians in the Gaza Strip.
“We have become aware that an extremely disturbing video containing hostage footage may be circulating on social media in the near future,” New York City public school principals said in an email this week, citing the content of the message. mentioned in. She said she was forwarded to her.
“These videos and images will likely be shared via Instagram, TikTok, and other social media,” the email continued. “In the meantime, we strongly recommend that you consider having your children remove these apps, add parental controls, and help them exercise maximum social media discretion.” Masu.”
The message was also sent to parents in other U.S. states with large Jewish populations, including Maryland and New Jersey. It is not immediately clear whether specific organizations are encouraging schools to issue warnings or whether schools are acting on their own.
David Lange, who lives in Israel and runs the Israeli advocacy group Israellycool, posted to X what he said was a screenshot of a message from a parent at his daughter’s school. The message, written in Hebrew and shared on WhatsApp, warned that Hamas could soon distribute the hostage video and urged her parents to remove TikTok from their children’s devices.
The warning spread beyond the United States and Israel. JFS, a British secondary school in London (also known as the Jewish Free School), sent an email to parents this week warning parents that Hamas may publish disturbing images on social media. The school issued a warning to the students and advised them to delete their TikTok and Instagram accounts.
“At today’s personal safety meeting, we asked students to remove these applications from their phones. We ask that you follow up at home,” the email, seen by NBC News, said. It was written. (JFS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)
The exact number of Israelis abducted by Hamas militants remained unknown as of Wednesday afternoon. Hamas militants claim more than 100 people have been detained, but the Israel Defense Forces late Monday estimated that more than 30 people are being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
NBC News has not independently verified any of these claims.
The messages from schools and Jewish religious sites underscore the sense of fear that has taken hold around the world after Hamas terrorists stormed into Israel on Saturday, killing hundreds. Israeli counterattacks have left hundreds dead in the Gaza Strip and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
In the United States and abroad, the war between Israel and Hamas has raised concerns more generally about outbreaks of violence at temples, synagogues, mosques, and other facilities associated with both Judaism and Islam. Police across the country have stepped up security for potential targets.
Facebook, X, TikTok and other social media services have been flooded with graphic images of Israel and Gaza since the weekend’s violence, including videos of Israelis being kidnapped from kibbutzim and murdered in their Gaza homes. It also includes photographs of Palestinian civilians.
In a post on TikTok, one parent said she had deleted all apps that could lead her children to offensive videos, including YouTube and Apple’s Safari browser.
“I talked to my kids about why we do this and how scary things can come to us through social media and YouTube,” she said in the video. “If they see something, they don’t have a problem and it’s not their fault, so they need to tell us about it.”
A Chinese spokesperson said TikTok, which has community guidelines that prohibit violent content, is adding additional moderation resources, blocking hashtags that promote violence, and restricting misleading statements amid the conflict. The company says it plans to add further layers of protection to its platform amid disputes, including proactive fact-checking – a service it owns.
X and Facebook’s parent company Meta did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment Wednesday.
In recent years, major social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have increased the number of videos, photos, and audio content that may be harmful to teens and children, including images related to terrorism, gun violence, suicide, and self-harm. It is subject to strict surveillance as it hosts .
In response, some platforms are deploying stricter parental controls, building moderation teams, and investing in automated systems designed to quickly uncover harmful content. But the debate over content moderation continues to roil the tech industry, and has intensified due to increasing politicization.