New social media trend ‘a good way to end up dead'
Authorities and online safety experts are warning that the challenge is 'a good way to end up dead,' as homeowners may resort to force to protect their property.
Incidents have been reported in multiple US states, with examples including two Florida teenagers facing felony burglary charges and a Las Vegas homeowner suffering US$5,000 of damage.
Experts suggest that social media platforms incentivize dangerous content for 'clout,' which normalizes violent and extreme behaviour among teenagers.
Parents are advised to have open conversations with their children about online trends and to monitor their digital activity to prevent participation in these risky challenges.
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Teenagers who tortured and killed two kittens sentenced
A teenage girl and boy who tortured and killed two kittens have been sentenced after one animal was 'completely ripped open' and found hanging from a tree. The 17-year-olds, who cannot be named for legal reasons, launched the 'sadistic' attack on the animals on 3 May near Ickenham Road, Ruislip, in north-west London. The kittens were found cut open with ropes attached to them, and 'dead pieces of flesh and fur appeared to have been burnt off them', a court heard. The hearing was told the boy had also dreamed of killing a human and 'getting away with murder', with police analysis of his phone showing he had also researched 'sacrificing animals to satan' and watched a 'significant amount of videos of animals that have been mutilated and people that have been beheaded'. The court heard a note on his device read: 'I have got close to satisfying my urges. I have skinned, strangled and stabbed cats.' The police officer also told the hearing there were 'a few images of kittens that had been quite badly mutilated' on the phone of the girl, who was aged 16 at the time, as well as videos downloaded from a 'gore website' in the months leading up to the incident. The defendants appeared at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court in May and pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to the protected animals by 'mutilating and killing' them. They also both admitted one count of possession of a knife at Ruislip Golf Course. The boy was sentenced to a 12-month detention and training order, and the girl was sentenced to a nine-month detention and training order, both at the same court in London on Monday. Passing sentence, District Judge Hina Rai described the case as 'deeply shocking and concerning' and told both defendants: 'Without a doubt, these are the most awful offences against animals that I have seen in this court.' The judge said the pair's 'clearly premeditated' actions would have caused 'immense suffering' to the kittens who were 'vulnerable and unable to escape'. The court heard members of the public had seen the pair walking on a footpath and holding hands in West Ruislip on the day of the incident. The teenage boy was holding a black carrier bag, which 'was seen to be moving slightly as if something alive was inside it'. The hearing was told members of the public became concerned when they later saw him and the girl running from the scene, which was described as 'horrific' by one member of the public who warned another to avoid it. Prosecutor Valerie Benjamin told the court police were alerted to the two 'dismembered' kittens left in a wooded area. Officers found a 'small black kitten hanging from a branch' by a red rope at the scene, she said. 'Its body was completely ripped open and its eyes were bulging out,' she added. The other animal 'had been cut open and had rope attached to it' when its body was discovered on the ground nearby, she told the hearing. Knives, blowtorches and scissors, which appeared to have blood on them, were also found at the scene, the hearing was told. The prosecutor described the way in which the animals were killed as 'sadistic'. Ms Benjamin told the court evidence from the boy's phone showed he had spoken about killing cats and dogs, suggesting a degree of planning for the attack – and had even searched how to kill a human. '[He] questioned how easy it would be to get away with murder, killing homeless people,' she said. A police officer who had been involved in reviewing the boy's phone detailed what she found on the device from the start of April until his arrest in May this year. She read out to the court a note discovered in his phone, which was written in May after the crime was committed. It stated: 'I really wanted to murder someone, and every day I was researching how to get away with murder. I have got close to satisfying my urges. I have skinned, strangled and stabbed cats.' Ms Benjamin told the court the girl had said she had carried out the attack because she was 'interested in biology and had done a dissection at school'. The court heard the boy may have ADHD and autism, which have yet to be diagnosed, and suffered depression, anxiety, hallucinations and self-harm. The hearing was told the girl had 'vulnerabilities' that were taken into account. Both had no previous convictions. A lifetime disqualification order from owning or keeping animals was also imposed by the court against both defendants.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
‘This trend has the potential to end in absolute tragedy': The new social media challenge that has authorities issuing stark warnings
A new social media trend is sweeping across the country - and officials are fearful it will end in tragedy. The 'door-kick challenge' takes the 'ding-dong-ditch' prank —ringing people's doorbells and running away before they answer—to new extremes. Pranksters choose a door at random in the middle of the night and kick it aggressively, sometimes until it comes off the hinges, and upload a video of it online. 'That's a good way to end up dead,' Florida's Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood bluntly put it. 'Especially in Florida. You've got to think you're about to become a victim of a home invasion robbery and, under the Castle doctrine, you're gonna shoot first and ask questions later.' Online safety advocacy groups also warn that kids could lose their lives over the social media trend or end up in jail. 'This trend has the potential to end in absolute tragedy,' Titania Jordan, chief parenting officer at Bark Technologies, a parental control app, told The Independent. 'We're not just talking about property damage — kids are putting themselves at serious risk. If homeowners are armed or on high alert, it's not hard to imagine how a prank like this could escalate into something irreversible.' 'What's at stake is more than just a viral moment gone wrong,' Jordan adds. 'It's a child's life, a family's future, and the potential for criminal charges that could follow them for years.' Authorities are warning parents about the dangerous 'door kick challenge' as recent incidents have cropped up in California, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Wisconsin, Texas and Michigan, to name a few. Marc Berkman, CEO of the Organization for Social Media Safety, said that social media has 'conditioned' American teens to re-enact dangerous challenges and pranks. 'Social media incentivizes users, especially teens, to post content that will generate likes, shares, and views, or 'clout' as some may call it,' Berkman told The Independent. 'Unfortunately, what generates that social media attention is often salacious content: violent, explicit or otherwise extreme. Our teens, spending upwards of five hours a day viewing this content, quickly become desensitized to it, and violence, cruel pranks, and challenges become normalized.' Police in Louisville, Kentucky, said that the prank was 'stupid and dangerous' following an incident in the city over the weekend. A woman caught masked teens kicking down her door at 2:30 a.m. Saturday, Wave reports. 'Anyone participating in this type of behavior is certainly risking their own life,' said Louisville Metro Police Department spokesperson John Bradley. 'A resident could easily assume resorting to deadly force against the person is the next appropriate course of action to protect themselves from what they believe may be an intruder. This type of behavior is stupid and dangerous.' In Las Vegas earlier this month, homeowner Tyler Reggie and his pregnant girlfriend were asleep when pranksters kicked the door in at 3 a.m. on July 8. Reggie told FOX5 that he 'assumed the worst' when the banging started, but saw it was teenagers after reviewing his doorbell camera footage. They caused $5,000 worth of damage to his property, he said. In Florida, two teenagers are facing a charge of felony burglary after taking part in the challenge in the city of DeBary, Volusia County. The teens kicked a homeowner's door in so aggressively that it broke open. 'The so-called 'door kicking challenge' is a surefire way to get locked up with a felony… or even worse, shot and killed by a homeowner,' Sheriff Chitwood said in a social media post on July 7. The teens told deputies they were 'just being stupid.' One of them, a 13-year-old girl, was found hiding in her attic after deputies searched for her inside the house. 'And, let me tell you, mom was furious with her daughter after deputies told her what she had been up to,' Chitwood said. 'Parents, use this as a reminder to TALK with your kids that this challenge is not harmless and is the dumbest way to end up with a felony charge or dead.' Similar social media trends have met a tragic end in recent years. Teenage lacrosse star Michael Bosworth Jr was allegedly shot dead by a homeowner in May during an alleged break-in, but his friend told police it was a TikTok 'ding-dong-ditch' prank gone wrong. Tyler Chase Butler, 27, has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the 18-year-old's death, who was fatally shot in the torso in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. Butler is being held in Rappahannock Regional Jail until a preliminary hearing in September. His family said he 'acted out of a genuine fear for his safety and the safety of his mother.' In another devastating case in Riverside County, California, Anurag Chandra killed three teenage boys after they played a doorbell prank on him in 2020. The group of six teenagers pranked Chandra before running back to their vehicle. Chandra then got in his car and intentionally rammed the teenagers' vehicle off the road, killing three of them, authorities said. Parenting expert Jordan noted that similar pranks have been around for decades, but social media has elevated them. 'Pranks like ding dong ditch have always existed, but social media has given them a megaphone,' Jordan said. 'What used to be a local stunt can now go viral in seconds. Even if kids aren't sharing their own videos, just seeing others do it on repeat can make it feel normalized or even encouraged.' Kids may take part in the challenges due to peer pressure, the simple thrill of doing something they shouldn't, or more likely, for social validation, Jordan said. 'Even if they're not filming themselves in the act, just being part of a trend gives them a sense of belonging,' Jordan explained. ' It's easy to forget how impulsive kids can be when they're trying to impress their peers or prove they're not afraid to push boundaries.' Jordan recommends parents have regular conversations with their kids, not just about what they're posting but what they're watching online. 'Ask what trends are showing up in their feeds and how they feel about them,' she said. 'This kind of open dialogue is your best defense,' Jordan added. 'At the same time, it can be helpful to use tech tools that give parents a window into their child's digital world.'
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Fox host fawns over ‘good jeans' Sydney Sweeney on gun range: ‘As a single guy ... you love to see it'
Sweeney has courted controversy with her recent 'good jeans' ad for American Eagle, which some have argued carries racist messaging, prompting outrage from the right in response. President Donald Trump jumped into the fray, praising the ad after it was reported that Sweeney is a registered Republican in Florida. 'You love to see it,' said Jones. 'For me, as a single guy, anytime I see a young woman that can shoot, her value goes up. That means I can take her home to Texas … That means when I'm away from the family, she's gonna protect the family. And I think this is beautiful. 'They tried to destroy this woman, and her value is going up. She is just not beautiful, but she can shoot, too? We're done here. It's just beautiful.' The footage of Sweeney at the gun range was shared by Taran Tactical Innovations, an online firearms retailer, on Saturday. Left-leaning critics of the American Eagle ad campaign have accused the company of spreading 'racist' and 'Nazi propaganda.' Some have argued that it pushes eugenic ideals with its wordplay on 'jeans' and 'genes.' Critics have argued that the two phrases harken back to the debunked racist theory pushed by the Nazis that the human race can be improved via selective breeding. 'Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color,' Sweeney says in one of the ads. 'My jeans are blue,' she adds, before a narrator says, 'Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.' Fox News took notes from Trump's playbook and seemingly used the controversy surrounding the ad to avoid discussing the scandal enveloping the administration in connection with the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Liberal media watchdog Media Matters for America found that Fox News spent more than 85 minutes during at least 20 segments discussing the ad through Thursday afternoon. Meanwhile, Fox discussed the Epstein files for about three minutes even as Trump claimed that Epstein 'stole' one of his accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, from Mar-a-Lago. Media Matters found that Fox News mentioned Sweeney 62 times, while just mentioning Epstein 14 times. Trump heaped praise on the jeans ad after Sweeney's political leanings were reported. The president addressed reporters on the runway in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on Sunday night. 'She's a registered Republican?' Trump asked. 'Now I love her ad.' Previously, on Sunday, it emerged that since June of last year, Sweeney has been registered with the Republican Party of Florida, according to public voting records viewed by The Guardian. 'Is that right? Is Sydney Sweeney… You'd be surprised how many people are Republicans. That's one I wouldn't have known, but I'm glad you told me that,' said Trump. 'If Sydney Sweeney is a registered Republican, I think her ad is fantastic,' he added. ''Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans' is and always was about the jeans,' American Eagle said in a response to the criticism. 'Her jeans. Her story.' 'We'll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way,' the statement added. 'Great jeans look good on everyone.' Trump took to Truth Social on Monday morning to say that 'Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the 'HOTTEST' ad out there.' 'It's for American Eagle, and the jeans are 'flying off the shelves,'' he claimed. The president went on to criticise 'WOKE' advertising, before taking aim at Taylor Swift, who endorsed his opponent, former Vice President Kamala Harris, ahead of the 2024 election. 'Or just look at Woke singer Taylor Swift. Ever since I alerted the world as to what she was by saying on TRUTH that I can't stand her (HATE!),' he said. 'She was booed out of the Super Bowl and became, NO LONGER HOT.' Trump went on to say that 'WOKE is for losers' and that the 'Republican Party is what you want to be.'
