Sheriff's Office responds to viral social media misinformation about debunked April 24 'threat'

Palm Coast Observer
News

A viral social media panic prompted a response from the Flagler County Sheriff's Office on April 23.

The social media posts have stated — falsely — that a group of men had declared April 24 a "National Rape Day" in a TikTok video and that penalties for sexual crimes would be suspended on that date.

There is no "holiday" that legalizes sexual assault, and independent fact checkers at multiple news outlets have found no evidence that the supposed original video existed in the first place. The rumor-checking website Snopes found that rumors about such a day have circulated online for years.

The FCSO issued a news release April 23 noting that TikTok itself had denied finding any evidence of such a video, and stating that the FCSO's Domestic Homeland Security Unit is aware of the social media posts.

TikTok told Newsweek.com, “While we have not found evidence on our platform of any videos related to this subject, our safety team is remaining vigilant and we will remove content that violates our policies."

The FCSO's news release also lists the National Sexual Assault Hotline's phone number: 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) and website hotline.RAINN.org.

“Sexual assault in any form is a serious criminal act that will not be tolerated,” Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said, according to the news release. “All claims will be vigorously investigated and all perpetrators will be held accountable for their actions. We ask all residents and visitors to call 911 immediately in the event of an emergency or call the non-emergency line 386-313-4911 to report any suspicious activity. If you are ever in fear or danger, do not hesitate to call upon us. We are here for you.”