Trumped-up School Panic: Campaign Lie Forces Ohio School Closures

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As vice presidential candidate and Ohio Sen. JD Vance makes clear a willingness to peddle false stories to the public on the campaign trail, his fake claims have caused real panic at schools in his home state.

As Vance and GOP presidential running mate Donald Trump spread a vile and racist rumor that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are abducting and eating their neighbors' pets, six local schools were forced to close temporarily after receiving bomb threats. Two area colleges were also pushed into remote learning after the Republican duo's disinformation campaign prompted real-world threats of violence .

State troopers and bomb detection dogs were deployed to Springfield's public schools Tuesday after they received dozens of bomb threats in the last week alone.

"Our students, staff and school community do not deserve to have their daily schedules disrupted by senseless threats of violence," district Superintendent Bob Hill said.

The false claims coming from Trump and Vance spurred a response from Ohio's Republican governor, Mike DeWine, who said the rumors are harmful and "need to stop." Springfield officials have erected a security tower with surveillance cameras outside City Hall as the candidates double down on the unfounded claims despite the growing number of bomb threats against city agencies — 36 as of Tuesday.

Big picture: Schools are routinely haunted by copycat perpetrators. Now, the politically fueled disruption of schools in Ohio — and a mass shooting at Georgia's Apalachee High School this month — have reportedly contributed to a national surge in these unnerving events. | Axios

In the news

More on the disinfo campaign trail: In a Moms for Liberty speech, Trump made the baseless claim that schools perform surgery on transgender youth. Children go to school and come home "a few days later with an operation. The school decides what's going to happen with your child." | The Guardian

The Federal Communications Commission has opened applications for its $200 million cybersecurity pilot program, designed to defray school and library expenses for firewalls and other data security services. | FCC

What they're saying: "School districts and libraries across the country have proven to be prime targets for cybercriminals," FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a media release. "The vulnerabilities in the networks are real — and growing."

Big picture: A quarter of young people's identities will be stolen before they turn 18 as cybercriminals run up major debt using the minors' credit. | Forbes

ByteDance bites back: Chinese-owned ByteDance, which runs the teen obsession/social media platform TikTok, was in a federal appeals court this week to fight a law that would force the company to sell the app or face a nationwide ban over national security concerns. | The New York Times

New Mexico officials have sued social media app Snapchat after an undercover investigation accused the platform of being a leading source "for sharing child sexual abuse material" and using an algorithm that "serves up children to adult predators." | Ars Technica

As social media platforms face scrutiny over their effects on youth mental health, Instagram is rolling out "teen accounts" that limit their screen time, the types of content they see and the people they're able to message. | The Washington Post

A free teletherapy program launched in New York City public schools could misuse students' information and run afoul of state and federal student privacy laws, data security advocates allege. | Chalkbeat

School (in)Security exclusive: Education technology company AllHere, which built a much-hyped $6 million chatbot for the Los Angeles school district that allegedly violated students' privacy, has filed for bankruptcy. | The 74

The Department of Homeland Security awarded a $450,000 grant to a gun violence research consortium at the Rockefeller Institute of Government to study mass shootings, including those in schools, and develop bystander intervention training to prevent assaults. The training will be piloted at 10 New York school districts. | DHS

Teachers split on active-shooter drills: Less than half of teachers said active-shooter drills have prepared them for a school shooting, according to a new RAND survey. More than two-thirds said the drills have had no impact on their perceptions of campus safety and just a fifth said they make them feel more safe. | RAND

The Charlotte, North Carolina, school district broke the law when leaders withheld records that detailed incidents of student rape and sexual assault, a court ruled. | WBTV

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An Oklahoma school resource officer was credited with using a tourniquet to save the life of a teenager who, in an act of apparent rage over bullying, punched through a school bus window, cutting an artery in his right arm. | KOCO

Colorado student suspensions have surged 25% since 2018, as schools struggle with children's post-COVID mental health challenges. | The Denver Post

A West Virginia elementary school custodian was arrested on charges he stored a gun in his car in the campus parking lot and that an 11-year-old threatened to use the weapon to shoot a classmate and himself. | WSAZ

How a poppy seed salad from Costco upended a mother's life: Inaccurate drug tests have taken a toll on parents nationwide, an investigation found, as they face scrutiny from — and sometimes lose their babies to — child protective services. | Reveal

An Apalachee High School Spanish teacher describes how she kept her students calm during the deadly campus shooting in Georgia earlier this month: "I lied." | NPR