A campus culture of fear: Are hoaxes and swatting ever going to stop haunting US colleges?
US colleges are facing a surge in swatting hoaxes: false active-shooter calls that trigger lockdowns, panic, and heavy police response. Once pranks, these threats now exploit America’s mass-shooting anxieties, leaving students traumatized and campuses strained. With incidents coordinated online and prevention elusive, swatting blurs the line between hoax and horror, eroding trust in safety systems.
US colleges are facing a surge in swatting hoaxes: false active-shooter calls that trigger lockdowns, panic, and heavy police response. Once pranks, these threats now exploit America’s mass-shooting anxieties, leaving students traumatized and campuses strained. With incidents coordinated online and prevention elusive, swatting blurs the line between hoax and horror, eroding trust in safety systems.
