TikTokers, KOLs, and the Education Crisis: When Schools Become Digital Battlegrounds

We live in an era where information spreads faster than reason. A story can be twisted, exaggerated, and go viral within hours, yet its consequences can last for years. Sadly, education—an institution that should be built on trust, care, and collaboration—has not escaped the chaos of TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube drama.

Today, one of my staff members was threatened by a parent—a TikToker/KOL with hundreds of thousands of followers—on their child’s first day of school. The warning was clear: If anything happens to my child, your school will be exposed online.

This is no longer an isolated incident. It is a symptom of a deeper problem—one that reveals the unchecked abuse of digital influence in education and raises a troubling question: Are we allowing social media to dictate the way schools are run?

When Digital Power of TikTokers/KOLs Turns Public Opinion into a Courtroom

Public sentiment today is quick to believe rumors but ruthless toward people. A single, unverified accusation can instantly become a viral sensation, pulling in millions of views and thousands of angry comments. Meanwhile, the person being accused hasn’t even had a chance to explain before the public has already passed judgment.

A study by Vosoughi, Roy & Aral (2018), published in Science, titled “The Spread of True and False News Online”, found that false news spreads six times faster than the truth on Twitter—especially if it is sensational or negative.

When a video "exposing" a school appears, the public doesn’t ask for context. Instead, assumptions take over. People jump straight to blame, questioning what is wrong with the school, assuming the teacher must be guilty, and repeating the ever-dangerous phrase, "There’s no smoke without fire."

But when the truth finally comes out, does anyone go back to listen? Does anyone post an update saying, "I was wrong, I apologize"? The answer is almost always no. By then, the scandal has cooled, and the crowd has moved on to the next viral outrage.

A study by the University of California, Berkeley (2021), “The Long-Term Effects of Online Defamation: How Viral Accusations Impact Professionals,” found that only 17% of false accusations are later corrected by those who originally spread them, while 83% remain uncorrected. This means that once a teacher is falsely accused, their reputation is permanently damaged, no matter what the truth reveals.

And so, the question lingers: How many good teachers have we lost because they were unfairly vilified before they had the chance to be heard?

Schools Are Not Just Another Business

Many people compare schools to a service business, but that’s an oversimplification. A school is far more complex than most businesses. Unlike a café, hotel, or hospital, a school does not simply provide a service—it must balance three of the most demanding stakeholder groups: teachers, students, and parents.

Teachers are not just employees; they are key partners in education. Their expertise determines the majority of a school’s success, as they directly shape students’ learning and development. A school without good teachers loses its core value. Yet, instead of being respected for their knowledge, teachers are often the first to be blamed in an online scandal.

Students benefit from education, but they are also the most emotionally affected when their school becomes the target of public attacks. A study by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD, 2022), “The Impact of Parental Attitudes on Children’s Academic Motivation”, found that children who see their parents constantly criticize teachers are less likely to respect them, have lower motivation to learn, and are more prone to negative behavior.

Parents are both the financial stakeholders and the ones who set expectations for schools. While many parents work together with teachers, some treat schools like businesses, expecting everything to be done their way—and using social media as a tool to apply pressure when it isn’t.

If teachers are suppliers, students are consumers, and parents are paying clients, then schools are navigating one of the most fragile business models—one that cannot function without trust. And yet, trust is precisely what is being eroded.

When Education Falls Prey to Sensationalized Media

Social media allows anyone to spread a story, but this also means that truth can be distorted, manipulated, or completely replaced by viral fiction. One of the biggest misconceptions fueling online outrage is the phrase, “There’s no smoke without fire.”

So, where does the “smoke” come from if there is no “fire”? There are three common ways false accusations gain traction.

The first is selective editing and manipulation. A teacher may gently remind a child to sit properly, but if someone clips only the moment they raise their voice, the story becomes, “Teacher yells at student.” A school meal may be perfectly normal, but if a parent photographs only one messy plate, the narrative turns into, “School serves terrible food.”

This happens more often than we think. In Japan in 2022, a parent posted a viral video claiming a teacher ignored a crying child. The teacher was immediately suspended. Later, an investigation revealed that the child was simply upset about doing homework, and the teacher was giving them space to calm down. But by the time the truth came out, the teacher had already quit due to stress.

The second way misinformation spreads is through emotional bias without evidence. If a child seems unhappy at school, parents might assume, "The school is the problem," even though children can be upset for countless reasons. If a teacher doesn’t smile all the time, they might be labeled “cold” or “uncaring”, even if they are simply focused on teaching. A study published in Science Advances (2023), “How Misinformation on Social Media Shapes Public Perception”, found that people tend to believe information that matches their emotions or biases, even when there’s no concrete evidence. In other words, a rumor spreads not because it’s true, but because people want to believe it’s true.

The third factor is the "Me Too" effect and mob mentality. When one person shares a bad experience, others with even minor complaints join in, turning a small issue into a large-scale scandal. Studies on crowd psychology, such as those by Gustave Le Bon (1895), show that people in groups amplify emotionally charged information without verification. What starts as one person’s grievance can quickly escalate into widespread outrage.

Coincidence does not mean causation. Yet, on social media, when multiple voices repeat the same claim, it suddenly feels like undeniable truth—even if it started from a misunderstanding.

What Kind of Education Do We Want?

A school should be a place where children grow—not a battlefield where online mobs dictate its fate.

More than the occasional scandal, the real crisis is the loss of trust. When trust between schools, teachers, and parents is broken, everything becomes more expensive—not just financially, but emotionally and structurally. Schools are forced to spend more on crisis management instead of student development. Teachers operate in fear, reducing their passion and effectiveness. Parents approach schools with skepticism instead of cooperation.

These are questions not just for educators, but for society. Because if an education system runs on fear, how can we expect the next generation to be independent thinkers with strong values?

We do not need an education system controlled by those who shout the loudest online. We need one that values truth over hysteria, protects educators from baseless attacks, and encourages parents and teachers to work together for children’s success.

Because in the end, social media may forget a scandal, but children will always remember how we taught them to treat others. And the question we must ask ourselves is, what kind of lesson are we leaving behind?