The young girl behind a recent online rumour in Lloydminster says she has learned her lesson.
On Monday, a post was made to local social media about a candy bar with a razor blade embedded into it handed out in the Jack Kemp Elementary School area. When 106.1 The Goat reached out to both the police and the individual who had made the initial post, it was found that the rumour was not true, and the post had been made based on second-hand information.
The 13 year old girl who started the rumour has since spoken out and her mother has confirmed her story. However, their names are being kept private.
According to the girl’s mother, the rumour started with a joke posted to Snapchat.
“The girls were going through their candy, and her other friend thought it would be funny to take apart a pencil sharpener, and stick the razor blade into the chocolate, which they then took a picture of, and thought it would be funny to post it on Snapchat saying they found it in their candy,” said the mother.
“When we saw that it had made it to a news story online, I think is when we realized it went too far.”
The girl also said she did not mean for rumours to start.
“I hope people don’t hate me for this,” said the teenager.
“No one was harmed, I didn’t actually tell the police that it was real, I didn’t go to them, I didn’t take it that far.”
The mom says she didn’t see the Snapchat image of the candy bar until the day after the post was shared. While she says she was angry, she says her daughter has learned a lesson about how quickly things can spread online.
“I think the one thing I would take from this whole thing is be careful of what you post online,” said the mother.
“Make sure that you’re ok with the entire city seeing what it is that you post. Even if it’s in a private app like Snapchat, it’s not private, and it can explode overnight, or within hours. Once it’s out there, it’s out there, for good.”
The teenager’s mother also recommended that trick or treaters check their candy, but also check their sources when seeing information online.