The Austin Independent School District this week fell victim to a harassment campaign after right-wing activist Chaya Raichik falsely accused them of teaching second-graders about furries.
Mashable's Matt Binder reports that Raichik, whose "LibsOfTikTok" account has leveled spurious accusations of "grooming" against public school teachers, fell for a hoax "furry worksheet" that was created an internet troll on Reddit's /r/Drama subreddit.
"In a since-deleted post that was archived via Google on April 13 – 12 days before Libs of TikTok fell for the fakes — members discussed the 'Furry Culture Month school worksheet' troll, created by one of rDrama's moderators," writes Binder. "The post compiles a number of Reddit posts created by the mod in an attempt to trick users."
Shortly after Raichik lobbed false accusations against the Austin Independent School District, it was flooded with angry calls and messages from her followers, who accused the schools of teaching "sexual fetishes" to children.
The school district, for its part, did a review of its curriculum and found no "furry worksheets" created for second-graders.
"Our curriculum team looked at our resources, and it is not in our curriculum nor is it part of counseling or social emotional learning," a spokeswoman told Binder.
IN OTHER NEWS: MAGA rioter who scaled Capitol barricades with his teen daughter pleads guilty
