In The Know: Fake School Pages
Fake school pages are online accounts set up using a school’s name or logo, often pretending to be official but instead under someone else’s control. They may post rumours, jokes, fights, or embarrassing content about students or staff. While they might look harmless or entertaining at first, these pages can cause serious harm to individuals and damage a school’s reputation.
What's the harm?
Fake school pages can have a serious impact on young people and the community:
- Bullying and harassment: Young people may be mocked, targeted, or humiliated online.
- Rumours and lies: False information can spread quickly and be believed as truth.
- Unsafe exposure: Names, photos, or videos may be shared without consent.
- School reputation damage: The page can mislead the community and harm trust.
- Lasting footprint: Posts and screenshots can stay online long after the page is deleted.
Quick plan if your child is targeted
- Stay calm, listen, and avoid taking devices away
- Work together to save evidence (screenshots, usernames, links)
- Use in-app tools to report and block, and review privacy settings
- Tell the school if students or staff are involved
- Contact Netsafe for advice on next steps
What your child can do to reduce the harm of fake school pages
When young people engage with fake school pages, they add to the harm. Instead, they can be part of the solution:
- Don’t engage: Avoid liking, following, or sharing content from fake school pages.
- Save evidence: Take screenshots if harmful content is posted (unless it’s objectionable), in case it needs to be reported.
- Report pages: Use the in-app reporting tools to flag the account, tell a trusted adult, and contact Netsafe for advice.
- Support others: Support classmates who are targeted and encourage them to get help.
What can parents and whānau do?
Chat regularly with your child about what’s happening online and offline. Ask what they’re enjoying, what’s worrying them, and how their friendships are going. Relaxed, ongoing conversations build trust so young people come to you when something goes wrong online.
A helpful approach for these conversations
- Stay calm and curious; avoid jumping to conclusions
- Listen first, before giving advice
- Focus on understanding their experience
- Keep the conversation open, not one-off
Conversation Starters
- “If you saw a page pretending to be from our school, how would you know if it was real or fake?”
- “Have you seen accounts pretending to be your school or posting about people from school?”
- “What kind of things do they post?”
- “What could happen if a photo of you or your friends ended up on one of these
- “How can you tell if something like that is real or just made up?”
- “Why do you think people follow or share those pages?”
- “What happens when something untrue gets posted about someone?”
- “How would that affect friendships or how people see you?”
- “Why do you think people follow or share posts from fake school pages?”
- “What do you think is the best way to support someone who’s targeted online?”
- “Even reacting or following can give those pages more attention; what do you think a better choice might be?”
Let your child know that if anything ever gets posted about them or their friends, you are there for them and can help them get support.
What else can help
These tips can help protect your child's digital footprint and reduce the risk of their profile being connected to a fake school account
Images or jokes could be copied and used on fake pages.
Use strict privacy settings and only share with trusted friends.
Avoid tagging others in photos or comments that could be taken out of context.
Don't react if they're not sure if the content is real, or posted by someone they know and trust. Even a simple like or emoji can link your child's account to harmful content.
Teach them the importance of keeping personal details safe. They shouldn't share information that could be misused to impersonate them or their school.
Download this advice as a one-pager
Netsafe support for schools
Netsafe provides free harm prevention education tools for schools and kura, funded by the Ministry of Education.
Let your child's school know that they can visit The Kete (https://education.netsafe.org.nz) and register with a school email address, to access a range of resources and on-demand materials to support staff and students.
