Oklahoma schools gig for Libs of TikTok founder: Does it meet state's own rules?

Chaya Raichik, the far-right influencer whose controversial posts have preceded dozens of bomb and death threats, was appointed to a statewide library advisory board in Oklahoma this week — though she doesn’t appear to meet the board’s own basic requirements. Meanwhile, threats against national and local lawmakers are still going through the roof. And kids are being exposed to glorification of mass shooters on Roblox, Discord, TikTok and other platforms, a new study shows.

It’s the week in extremism

Libs of TikTok influencer appointed to Oklahoma library panel

Chaya Raichik, who runs the social media channels known as Libs of TikTok, was appointed this week to the Oklahoma Library Media Advisory Committee by the state’s schools superintendent, Ryan Walters.

(Some quick background if you haven’t heard of this. The name is a bit of sarcasm: Raichik is not a “lib” and her channel isn’t on TikTok. She posts videos and other items that have purportedly been shared by liberals, and uses those posts to ridicule them.)

As USA TODAY reported last year, dozens of bomb threats and death threats to hospitals, libraries and schools — including several about Oklahoma institutions — have been documented nationwide in the last two years. In each case, the target of the threats had been targeted in the days before by posts from Libs of Tiktok.

In an interview for that report, Raichik said there was no proof her followers were involved in most of the threats. She said she opposed violence, but declined to specifically call for a stop to the threats.

Which brings us to the news from Oklahoma:

• When USA TODAY asked Department of Education spokesman Dan Isett to provide the rules governing who can and cannot sit on the committee, he responded: “It is made up of parents, current/retired Librarians, and English Literature Teachers.”

• Raichik does not appear to be, or ever have been, a librarian or an English teacher. (She’s also not from, and doesn’t live in, Oklahoma; she’s a former Brooklyn real estate agent who grew up in Los Angeles.)

• When USA TODAY asked Isett which of these categories Raichik falls into, he did not provide an answer.

• USA TODAY also asked Raichik this week in a message whether she has accepted the volunteer position. She did not respond to the question.

Kasey Meehan, director of the Freedom to Read Program at PEN America, a nonprofit that champions the advancement of literature, said the Oklahoma superintendent has “chosen to elevate someone with a track record for demonizing librarians to a state-appointed role meant to support librarians and literacy in the state — a decision we predict will be disastrous.”

Threats against lawmakers continue

Last year, U.S. Capitol Police investigated 8,008 threats against lawmakers, the department announced late last week. That’s more than the previous year and almost 3,000 more cases than in 2018. Meanwhile, a new report from the Brennan Center for Justice found state and local legislators are also being threatened at elevated levels.

• The number of threat investigations by Capitol Police jumped in 2020 and has been elevated ever since. The tally hit a high in 2021 — the same year as the Jan. 6 insurrection — when the agency investigated 9,625 threats. The total dipped in 2022, but spiked again last year and the department warned it is likely to rise again in 2024 because of the presidential election.

• And it’s not just federal politicians: The Brennan Center surveyed 354 state legislators and more than 1,300 local lawmakers last year. More than 40% of state legislators who responded to the survey reported receiving threats. For local lawmakers, 18% reported receiving threats.

• The Brennan Center study also found that 38% of state legislators who responded said the amount of abuse they receive has increased.

USA TODAY has been reporting on the increase in threats against lawmakers and public officials. As last week’s roundup noted, 2023 saw a record number of federal prosecutions for such threats.

Study: Glorification of mass shooters on TikTok, Discord, Roblox

Mainstream online platforms are hosting an “ecosystem glorifying mass shooters” that is readily accessible to minors, a study from the London-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue released this week found.

• Three videos glorifying mass shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand, and Colorado – which use live footage from a shooting, a digital re-creation or animated characters modeled after the shooters – were viewed more than 682,000 times, one example from the study found.

• “There is a clear pipeline from mainstream platforms like TikTok to more opaque and less moderated platforms like Discord and Telegram where overt mass shooter glorification, hate speech and gore can (according to users), be more freely shared and where indoctrination and radicalization may therefore be more likely to occur,” the study concluded.

• Researchers who created accounts on the platforms easily surfaced 127 TikTok videos glorifying mass shooters, the study says. The content is often centered on Roblox games, where users create avatars of mass shooters or recreate the shootings themselves via gameplay, researchers found.

Statistic of the week: More than three years

That’s how long it took Meta’s Oversight Board to conclude a case that found Facebook and Instagram failed to enforce rules against denying the Holocaust.

The Oversight Board, billed as a sort of independent Supreme Court for the tech giant, has been criticized for taking action very slowly. It announced late last week that it had come to a decision on a case sparked by a meme posted by an Instagram user in September 2020 that questioned the Holocaust.

A 92-page decision from the body was summed up in a press release: “The Board is concerned about Meta’s failure to remove this content and has questions about the effectiveness of the company’s enforcement.”

The latest ruling arrives after a massive uptick in both antisemitic and anti-Islam content and threats online, driven by reactions to the Israel-Hamas war.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Libs of TikTok's Chaya Raichik: Does she qualify for Okla. school gig?