TikTok shuts down more than 200 accounts targeting students in Sydney

Teen boys from several public schools across Sydney are rating their female classmates online, labelling them as “sluts”, “flops” and other derogatory terms as TikTok scrambles to close down their accounts. Watch the video.

Teen boys from public schools across Sydney are rating their female classmates online, labelling them as “sluts”, “flops” or “bops”.

More than 200 vile TikTok accounts have been shut down after The Sunday Telegraph last week alerted the social media giant to at least 20 pages, which encouraged students to “send in requests” of the names and photos of female pupils, so they could be publicly shamed.

Some of the accounts featured female students from schools including Liverpool, Hoxton Park and Lurnea.

There were also a series of Sydney-based bullying pages showing videos and images of male and female students, with the captions “flops”, “bops” and “finest”. A “flop” and “bop” is a term used to denigrate women.

There were also pages named “sydneysluts”, ­“slutsofsydney” and “liverpoolgirlbops”, taunting girls as young as 12.

A series of vile social media pages created by male students from several public schools across Sydney have been exposed.

In one shocking TikTok post, a female student is pictured along with the text “Sharmota (slut in Lebanese) up every Granville boy’s ayr (genitals).” In a similar post, another female pupil is pictured with the caption: “Body count higher than her age”.

One TikTok account with hundreds of followers, featured homophobic and misogynistic posts about students from schools in the inner west.

In another post, a young female student is repeatedly taunted by young men, with comments calling her a “slut”, “cheater” and “ugly”.

Cyber safety expert Susan McLean said social media companies needed to do more to protect young people online, including harmful content being immediately flagged and removed.

“Social media companies work very much on a reactionary model,” Ms McLean said.

“The content we’re seeing online is mainly gendered violence with a male perpetrator and female victim.

With more than 200 vile TikTok accounts have been shut down, cyber safety expert Susan McLean said social media companies needed to do more. Picture: TikTok

In one shocking TikTok post, a female student is pictured along with the text “Sharmota (slut in Lebanese). Picture: TikTok

“This type of content needs to be immediately blocked.”

The Telegraph last month revealed Australia’s eSafety Commissioner responded to almost 3000 verified complaints of cyber-bullying last year, a 25 per cent increase since 2023 and 455 per cent increase since 2019.

Australian Primary Principals Association president Angela Falkenberg said cyber bullying had “devastating harms” on young students.

“This type of targeted cyber bullying is just appalling,” Ms Falkenberg said. “It’s not just up to the schools to educate children about this issue, it’s also up to families to make sure that this type of behaviour is prevented.”

A TikTok spokesman said bullying was strictly “not tolerated” on its platform.

“Within less than 24 hours after being escalated to us, we have removed more than 210 accounts,” he said.

“If people see videos, comments, or accounts they think shouldn’t be on TikTok, we make it easy for them to report the content in the app.”

Education Minister Jason Clare has condemned the “disgusting” behaviour of teen boys from public schools rating their female classmates online and called for fathers to step up.

“It’s disgusting. I think any dad looking at that would be disgusted by it and would hope that their sons would never be involved in anything as despicable as that,” Mr Clare told Sky News political editor Andrew Clennell.

“There is a role here for schools in making sure that we are teaching young boys good behaviour, that’s why we’re rolling out $70 million in consent and respectful relationships education for boys when they are younger.”

But the Education Minister said parents also had a role to play in educating their sons.

“It’s not just what happens in schools, we have got roles as dads here to make sure that we raise our boys properly,” he said.

“When we hear our mates talk about women in the wrong way at the pub or in general conversation we have got to call that out as well.”

He said restricting the access of children to the “toxic cesspit” of social media populated by commentators like British former kickboxer Andrew Tate was a good way to protect them.

“What we are doing with banning access to social media for young people under the age of 16 is important here as well,” he said.

A NSW Department of Education spokeswoman said there was a “zero tolerance” policy for bullying and violence in schools.

“NSW public schools take incidents of bullying and cyber-bullying very seriously and young people affected by bullying are supported under our policies and procedures,” she said. “We have policies and procedures in place to identify, prevent and respond to student bullying, including online bullying, to ensure that our schools are safe places.”