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AG Josh Stein hosts social media town hall in Winston-Salem

Josh Stein heard from students, parents, teachers, and local leaders about how to better protect children online.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Students, parents, and teachers got to ask the State Attorney General questions about social media and online safety on Thursday. 

AG Josh Stein hosted a social media town hall in partnership with Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools. In 2023, he and other Attorney Generals across the country sued Meta for allegedly knowing its platform is harmful to children. 

Stein and WS/FCS Superintendent Tricia McManus addressed a variety of topics, including a potential TikTok ban, AI in the classroom, cell phones in school, and more. 

The root of violence, hate, and fear is social media. That is according to the AG Stein and Superintendent McManus.

During the town hall, McManus referred to the threats made against two middle schools this week alone - because students thought it would be funny. 

"Bad decision to decide to post that you're going to kill someone, or shoot someone, or shoot the school up, or come and do harm to students, and that has gone viral on social media and it's caused major disturbance," she explained. 

McManus said students aren't aware of the consequences when it comes to making threats like these. 

Threats that originate online cause hysteria, fear, chaos, and the punishments, according to officials, can be life changing. 

Again, they say this all starts with social media, and the impacts that surround it. 

McManus said, "They're impacting all these people but they're also going to have a terrible impact on their own lives because these are felonies. When you make a threat like that, it is a felony, and so you're going to now, even though you're a child, you're going to have this on your record."

Stein added, "the reason we were here today was talk about what is responsible social media usage for young people, particularly in the school room. And oftentimes, these instances will start online. They'll grow over the course of the day and continue into the night. So we really need to reign in social media."

AG Stein mentioned that different districts across the state are implementing policies to take phones away from students at the beginning of day. 

The state is currently researching the effects this would have on students, curriculum, and school violence. 

 We also heard from Stein's opponent in the Governor's race, Lt. Governor Mark Robinson, "Since Josh Stein took office as North Carolina’s top cop, juvenile crime and crime and violence in schools are on the rise. And thanks in large part to the draconian school shutdowns that Atty. Gen. Stein failed to stop, North Carolina’s kids are struggling with a mental health crisis. Today’s press conference is nothing more than election-year grandstanding by a failed politician who is desperate to cover his tracks. As governor, Mark Robinson will prioritize making our schools safer and stronger and tackling the youth mental-health crisis.” 

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