IT began with a viral post for teenagers to take part in a mass punch-up with weapons in a Red vs Blue school war.
Now experts say social media is fuelling a new generation of threat, enticing youngsters into violence after another trending post appeared to encourage kids to raid Tesco.
One told The Sun: “There’s no stopping these posts going viral.”
The Met Police was this month given extra powers to disperse schoolchildren in south-east London after teens were invited to take part in a so-called “meet-up” called The Motive.
On the surface, the latest post looked like an innocent event urging kids not to cause trouble, but cops were worried enough to take action amid fears it would lead to chaos.
It detailed a “meet up and route plan” for kids which included a stop at McDonald’s and Tesco.
It encouraged youngsters to keep it “safe and fun” and make “no real trouble” but told children to “get anything you need” at Tesco after a fast-food visit.
The Met Police was given a section 35 order for the Woolwich area, giving them powers to break up gangs of teens, after calls from worried parents.
The post sparked a fast response from police after the Red vs Blue wars in March that saw gangs of kids fighting in fields, and caused untold stress to ordinary schoolchildren.
Pupils in years 7 to 11 were urged to take part in running battles with a points system for the level of violence enacted.
One post told youngsters to “punch up an opp” for 20 points. Another said, “Hackney war weapons — bring your best”, alongside images of scissors, a school ruler, a knife, a compass, a comb and fireworks.
The messages said one school would come out on top at the end of the week but the events fizzled out once parents and cops got wind of the craze.
A 15-year-old boy and man in his 20s were later arrested and bailed.
At the time a picture of a knife-wielding teen was passed to The Sun by a Bristol anti-knife campaigner who was given access to Snapchat messages of kids boasting they were going to take part.
Mum Nikki Knight, whose 15-year-old son Mason Rist was stabbed to death alongside his best friend Max Dixon, 16, in Bristol in 2024, told The Sun the country needs more controls over social media.
She said: “It’s an example of knife crime being glamorised yet again.”
Forensic psychologist David Canter said kids are attracted to gangs as they try to find their own identity.
He said: “Developmentally there’s an age group of about ten to 12 in which the key thing is all about relationships.
“Being part of a group is exciting as, when a lot of people are together with the same commitment, it makes us feel much stronger in ourselves.
“With social media it’s a whole lot easier for them to find those groups.”
Online expert Jonathan Taylor warned that social media firms are almost powerless to stop posts going viral unless they are blatantly illegal.
Jonathan, a former undercover police officer, said: “If something goes viral it can’t be stopped unless it shows illegal content and that’s one of the biggest protections online platforms have got.
“The Government should be saying, ‘hold on a minute, let’s do something about this’, but they are not.
“Most platforms won’t prevent something going viral either because it means more engagement, more money and even more product placement.
“The people who create these posts are on an ego trip for popularity, more likes and more followers.
“If you can create something online that other people will follow and share there’s a possibility of becoming a content creator, or something ‘special’ on the internet.”
“We’ve got a real issue in that we can’t control what’s going online. In Australia, where they have banned social media for under-16s, statistics show that 81 percent of kids are still using it.
“I liken it to the drug problem. What we tried to do years ago was stop the little person smoking cannabis and not tackle the dealer.
“That’s the situation we are in with online platforms.”
