According to the nonprofit organization Gun Violence Archive, communities across the United States have suffered over 400 mass shootings1 in 2022 alone. The horrific tragedy that struck Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX, is just one of many school shootings to gain widespread media attention in the United States last year; it’s also one of the most fatal in U.S. history.

Even before the tragedy took place, the gunman sent messages via social media about his intentions to attack the school. Not only did he show off his weapons and ammunition over a private video chat, but he also publicly posted photos of assault rifles to his Instagram page.

At Digital4Good, a digital citizenship and education nonprofit, we want to stop violence before it starts. To help prevent school violence, we have developed a “Digital First Responder” training program to aid schools in effectively responding to social media threats, whether posted publicly or sent via direct message (DM). The program was also created in response to the uptick in cyberbullying, self-harm posts, and hate speech that has spread across the internet since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

The newly released Social Media Emergency Plan is a crucial component of this program.

Emergency Response Plan for School Violence

The Social Media Emergency Plan was developed by administrators, law enforcement, tech trust and safety teams, educators, and students at Digital4Good to support school administrators and staff in proactively identifying and reporting concerning or violent online activity. Formatted as an interactive digital guide, the plan walks its readers through the steps of identifying, investigating, and responding to threats, as well as how to regroup and refine their response strategies after the fact.

As of its release in June 2023, the full Emergency Plan is available free of charge to educators, administrators, and anyone who would find the resource useful. However, interested parties can also purchase a supplementary video course, which provides detailed guidance on how to effectively implement the plan at a school or throughout a district.

Key pieces in the guide include the following documents:

  1. The Social Media Risk Assessment breaks down the risk levels and recommends the best actions to take for each type of incident. High-risk categories such as weapons/violence and suicide/self-harm should always involve law enforcement.
  2. The Investigation Information Checklist functions as a guide to all of the pertinent information and items needed for an administrator-led investigation of a harmful social media incident.
  3. Admin Letter Templates (accessible through Google Docs and QR codes) may be used to communicate with parents regarding potential or active threats to their children’s safety. The letters are pre-written but can be edited and personalized as school site leaders deem fit.
  4. The Crisis Response Plan serves as a template for administrators and staff to develop a strategy in the event of an immediate threat to campus safety.
  5. The Incident Report Form allows students, administrators, and law enforcement to report incidents using the same template. The form is also available online using a Google Form; the link can be posted to the school’s website or social media pages.

An Anti-Cyberbullying Tool

In addition to handling threats to physical safety, the Emergency Plan will also support schools and parents in responding to online bullying and harassment.

The epidemic of cyberbullying among children and youth has plagued online communities since the start of social media. With interpersonal interactions increasingly switching to virtual settings, online harassment has become all too prevalent today—particularly cases singling out minority groups. One organization tracking online toxicity reported an overwhelming increase in hate speech on social media during the pandemic, with a 900% spike in racist Twitter attacks targeting Chinese people.

The Social Media Emergency Plan categorizes cyberbullying and harassment as a medium-risk threat. Both may not always require the involvement of law enforcement authorities, but they do warrant immediate attention and direct action from school leaders.

The Emergency Plan contains an investigation checklist specifically tailored for cyberbullying incidents (as shown above). After a student submits an online incident report, administrators can follow the steps outlined in the checklist to take action.

Taking Action Against Violence

Collectively, the issues of gun violence, cyberbullying, and hate speech reach far wider than a single school or district. Solving these issues will require legislative action and social reform.

However, the Social Media Emergency Plan will ensure that schools are fully equipped to respond to immediate threats on a local community level. The plan aims to provide practical steps and actionable advice for individual schools and districts to safely address campus threats and protect their students and staff.

With this new resource, the Digital4Good team hopes that students, staff, administrators, and parents will be empowered to speak up, protect one another, and leverage the tools at their disposal to protect their communities against potential threats.

Want to try out the Social Media Emergency Plan for yourself? Visit icanhelp.net/social-media-emergency-plan to download a free copy.

Kim Karr is the executive director and co-founder of Digital4Good and #ICANHELP. Learn more at icanhelp.net.

1 A mass shooting is defined as a shooting that results in injury or death of four or more people, excluding the shooter.

References

Gun Violence Archive. (2023). Mass shootings in 2023. gunviolencearchive.org/reports/mass-shooting

Ng, R. (2021, December). Anti-Asian sentiments during the COVID-19 pandemic across 20 countries: Analysis of a 12-billion-word news media database. Journal of Medical Internet Research 23(12), e28305. doi: 10.2196/28305