Hide Transcript Show Transcript

REPORTER: THE SCHOOL NORMAL -- CONSPIRACY THEORY ON TWITTER, SPREADING LIKE WILDFIRE AND IS ZEROING IN ON A CHARTER SCHOOL. >> THE COMMENTS WERE SCARY. REPORTER: THEY WERE GOING TO HOST THEIR ANNUAL FUNDRAISER THIS SATURDAY. NOW SCHOOL OFFICIALS HAVE CANCELED IT AFTER FEARS THAT IT WILL BE THE SITE OF A TERROR PLOT. >> ABSOLUTELY HEARTBREAKING. REPORTER THE CONSPIRACY THEORY ORIGINATED FROM THIS TWEET. PART OF A POPULAR TWIT AGAIN, HE TWEETED OUT FIVE JOBS HE HAS HAD. A CONSPIRACY THEORIST ISOLATED RANDOM LETTERS, DRIVING THEM TOGETHER TO SUGGE GRASS VALLEY CHARTER SCHOOL FOUNDATION. >> THERE WAS GOING T BE A MASS SHOOTING. THEY USED WORDS LOCKED AND LOADED. WHEN YOU SEE THAT ON A TWITTER FEED, YOU CANNOT HELP BUT TO TAKE IT SERIOUSLY. REPORTER THE PRINCIPAL STRESSES THAT THERE WERE NO THREATS MADE TO THE SCHOOL, BUT HE DECIDED TO CANCEL THE EVENT BECAUSE OF ALL THE NEGATIVE ATTENTION. LAW-ENFORCEMENT DID NOT FIND A CREDIBLE THREAT. THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA, IT EMBOLDENS UNSTABLE PEOPLE TO TAKE ACTION AND TO DO DANGEROUS THINGS. REPORTER: THEY CANNOT RESCHEDULE. >> THEY ARE TAKI AWAY CONNECTION AND CELEBRATION AND JOY, WHEN WE ALL NEED MORE OF THAT IN TODAY’S WORLD.

Advertisement Bizarre conspiracy theory cancels Grass Valley school fundraiser Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A bizarre conspiracy theory circulating on Twitter and involving former FBI Director James Comey caused officials at a Grass Valley school to cancel its upcoming fundraiser. The Grass Valley Charter School Foundation was set to host its annual Blue Marble Jubilee on Saturday. The festival has been months in the making and generates up to $25,000 for the school. But last week, school officials decided to cancel the event due to an online conspiracy theory that zeroed in on the school. “You don't think that you would ever have to deal with a threat, a conspiracy, anything like this in our community,” said Kathy Dotson, parent and co-producer of the fundraiser.On April 27, Comey sent out a tweet as part of a popular twitter game, “Five Jobs I’ve Had.” But then, a conspiracy theorist took Comey’s tweet, isolated random letters and threaded them together to suggest “Five Jihad(s)” involving “Grass Valley Charter School Foundation.”Foundation President Wendy Willoughby called it a horrible discovery.“It was everything from Comey and his people were going to come and kidnap our children to there was going to be a mass shooting,” she said. Dotson followed the conspiracy threads online too. “(They) actually used the words 'locked and loaded,'" Dotson said. "When you see that on a Twitter feed, you can’t help but take it seriously."In a letter, Principal Scott Maddock informed parents that the festival would be canceled. “I want to stress the fact that there was no threat made against our school,” the letter reads. “Law enforcement agencies are completely certain that this conspiracy theory poses no danger to our school or community. We are canceling the Blue Marble Jubilee because of the negative attention placed on our festival.”Though law enforcement did not find a credible threat, school and event organizers worry about copycats. “These theories, although they hold no basis in reality or fact, what they can do and have the power to do through social media is embolden unstable people to take action and potentially do dangerous things,” Willoughby said. With the school year coming to a close, event organizers said they cannot reschedule the festival. “They are taking away connection and celebration and joy when we all need more of that in today’s world,” Willoughby said.With the jubilee canceled, the foundation is holding another fundraiser online.