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Dixie D’Amelio Responds to Rumors That She Faked Seizures to Get Out of Class

Published

2 years ago

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  • A person claiming to have attended Dixie D’Amelio’s former high school said that according to their teacher, the TikTok star would frequently fake seizures to get out of class. 
  • D’Amelio responded to the rumor in an emotional Instagram live, saying she had a seizure once at the school, outside of class, and never returned again.
  • She said her high anxiety caused Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures (PNES), which prompted her to be hospitalized for a few days and put on bed rest for months afterward. 
  • During that time, she developed other symptoms that come with PNES, including a stutter and shaking whenever her anxiety levels or heart rate were high. 
  • She condemned those who believe she would fake a seizure for attention, adding that she doesn’t like talking about this but feels it’s important for those in similar situations. 

Rumors About Fake Seizures 

Social media star Dixie D’Amelio held an emotional live stream Monday to open up about her medical history after rumors about her allegedly faking seizures in high school picked up steam. 

On Monday, a YouTuber known as Def Noodles, who covers influencer stories, published screenshots of a conversation he had with someone claiming to have attended D’Amelio’s former high school.  

In those messages, the anonymous person said, “from what i’ve heard, she would randomly fake a seizure in the middle of class and after a while, my teacher and people caught onto it. The nurse would come in and take her out of class.”

In another, they explain that their teacher is the one who told this information to their class. They said that one day when kids were making TikTok’s at school, Charli and Dixie D’Amelio’s names came up. About Dixie, they said the teacher, “remembered her easily. He said he had her as a student and that she used to pretend to have seizures during his class and that it got annoying after a while.”

When asked if they know how often this happened, the source said they didn’t know, but added that “it was in my teacher’s class often if he was able to catch on to it after a while.” 

This interview was met with a slew of different reactions, with some saying if true, that this was disgusting. Meanwhile, others defended D’Amelio and slammed the teacher for talking about her to students. However, the new claims ultimately just fueled this rumor about D’Amelio that has popped up on social media for some time now in different versions.

D’Amelio Responds 

Later that Monday, D’Amelio decided to address the rumors in an emotional Instagram live stream. In it, said she saw the post of a person talking about something very personal to her that she never wanted on the internet. She said that she wanted to explain the story herself so that this rumor doesn’t go any further.

“When I was in Sophomore year in high school, I had very bad anxiety, and it got so bad to the point where I developed this thing called PNES, which is Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures,” she said. “And it happened once, it happened on my last day of school, because I never went back…”

She went on to talk about what happened that day, remembering feeling sick and shaky. She said she asked a friend to help take her to her mom’s car when she fell to the floor and started having a seizure. 

“And I start compulsing and having these seizures because that is what they are classified as, even if they are not an epileptic seizure, the anxiety brought me to the point of having a seizure and this is a very very real thing,” she continued.

After this, she explained that she was placed in an ambulance and added, “then I’m taken to the hospital and I’m there for two days where they are constantly monitoring me and I have over 400 of these compulsions over the next two days.“

After this happened, she said withdrew from the school, feeling too embarrassed about what happened to come back. She said she remained on bed rest from that day in April until starting at a new school that September.

During that time, she said “I developed a lot more things that come with Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures, where I developed a stutter, and I was shaking all the time. Anytime I would have anxiety or my heart rate would go up, I would start skating my legs or something like that.

D’Amelio also explained that she’s heard this claim about her “faking seizures for attention” a lot before. She said she doesn’t like talking about it and added: “I didn’t want to share this but to a point, there has to be a time because I know it’s something people deal with and it’s a real thing, but it’s not a big thing so not a lot of people know about it.”

A few hours later, she took to Twitter to say that she will “use this opportunity to help spread awareness about some of the things ive been through because even though i dont do it offten i think it’s important to talk about mental health.”


Then, she took a minute to hit back at her critics by sharing the most recent allegations against her and writing: “to all of the adults replying to this tweet saying im ”disgusting”…how do you think i feel when i actually lived through this and people say i was faking for attention? maybe think before you type…”

Since then, people have been coming forward with statements claiming that the teacher didn’t make those comments about the teenager, while others said that they did. 

Either way, most internet users have shared the general sentiment that details about D’Amelio’s health are for nobody to share or make speculations about, and many have applauded her for opening up about anxiety.

See what others are saying: (Insider) (Dexerto) (HITC)

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Schools Across the U.S. Cancel Classes Friday Over Unverified TikTok Threat

Published

12 months ago

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December 17, 2021

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Officials in multiple states said they haven’t found any credible threats but are taking additional precautions out of an abundance of safety.

School Cancelled

Schools in no fewer than 10 states either canceled classes or increased their police presence on Friday after a series of TikToks warned of imminent shooting and bombs threats.

Despite that, officials said they found little evidence to suggest the threats are credible. It’s possible no real threat was actually ever made as it’s unclear if the supposed threats originated on TikTok, another social media platform, or elsewhere. 

“We handle even rumored threats with utmost seriousness, which is why we’re working with law enforcement to look into warnings about potential violence at schools even though we have not found evidence of such threats originating or spreading via TikTok,” TikTok’s Communications team tweeted Thursday afternoon. 

Still, given the uptick of school shootings in the U.S. in recent years, many school districts across the country decided to respond to the rumors. According to The Verge, some districts in California, Minnesota, Missouri, and Texas shut down Friday. 

“Based on law enforcement interviews, Little Falls Community Schools was specifically identified in a TikTok post related to this threat,” one school district in Minnesota said in a letter Thursday. “In conversations with local law enforcement, the origins of this threat remain unknown. Therefore, school throughout the district is canceled tomorrow, Friday, December 17.”

In Gilroy, California, one high school that closed its doors Friday said it would reschedule final exams that were expected to take place the same day to January.

According to the Associated Press, several other districts in Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Montana, New York, and Pennsylvania stationed more police officers at their schools Friday.

Viral Misinformation or Legitimate Warnings?

As The Verge notes, “The reports of threats on TikTok may be self-perpetuating.”

For example, many of the videos online may have been created in response to initial warnings as more people hopped onto the trend. Amid school cancellations, videos have continued to sprout up — many awash with both rumors and factual information.

 “I’m scared off my ass, what do I do???”  one TikTok user said in a now-deleted video, according to People. 

“The post is vague and not directed at a specific school, and is circulating around school districts across the country,” Chicago Public Schools said in a letter, though it did not identify any specific post. “Please do not re-share any suspicious or concerning posts on social media.”

According to Dr. Amy Klinger, the director of programs for the nonprofit Educator’s School Safety Network, “This is not 2021 phenomenon.”

Instead, she told The Today Show that her network has been tracking school shooting threats since 2013, and she noted that in recent years, they’ve become more prominent on social media. 

“It’s not just somebody in a classroom of 15 people hearing someone make a threat,” she said. “It’s 15,000 people on social media, because it gets passed around and it becomes larger and larger and larger.”

See what others are saying: (The Verge) (Associated Press) (People)

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Jake Paul Says He “Can’t Get Cancelled” as a Boxer

Published

1 year ago

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November 1, 2021

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The controversial YouTuber opened up about what it has been like to go from online fame to professional boxing.

The New Yorker Profiles Jake Paul

YouTuber and boxer Jake Paul talked about his career switch, reputation, and cancel culture in a profile published Monday in The New Yorker. 

While Paul rose to fame as the Internet’s troublemaker, he now spends most of his time in the ring. He told the outlet that one difference between YouTube and boxing is that his often controversial reputation lends better to his new career. 

“One thing that is great about being a fighter is, like, you can’t get cancelled,” Paul said. The profile noted that the sport often rewards and even encourages some degree of bad behavior.

“I’m not a saint,” Paul later continued. “I’m also not a bad guy, but I can very easily play the role.”

Paul also said the other difference between his time online and his time in boxing is the level of work. While he says he trains hard, he confessed that there was something more challenging about making regular YouTube content. 

“Being an influencer was almost harder than being a boxer,” he told The New Yorker. “You wake up in the morning and you’re, like, Damn, I have to create fifteen minutes of amazing content, and I have twelve hours of sunlight.”

Jake Paul Vs. Tommy Fury

The New Yorker profile came just after it was announced over the weekend Paul will be fighting boxer Tommy Fury in an 8-round cruiserweight fight on Showtime in December. 

“It’s time to kiss ur last name and ur family’s boxing legacy goodbye,” Paul tweeted. “DEC 18th I’m changing this wankers name to Tommy Fumbles and celebrating with Tom Brady.”

Both Paul and Fury are undefeated, according to ESPN. Like Paul, Fury has found fame outside of the sport. He has become a reality TV star in the U.K. after appearing on the hit show “Love Island.”

See what others are saying: (The New Yorker) (Dexerto) (ESPN)

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Hackers Hit Twitch Again, This Time Replacing Backgrounds With Image of Jeff Bezos

Published

1 year ago

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October 8, 2021

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The hack appears to be a form of trolling, though it’s possible that the infiltrators were able to uncover a security flaw while reviewing Twitch’s newly-leaked source code.

Bezos Prank

Hackers targeted Twitch for a second time this week, but rather than leaking sensitive information, the infiltrators chose to deface the platform on Friday by swapping multiple background images with a photo of former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. 

According to those who saw the replaced images firsthand, the hack appears to have mostly — and possibly only — affected game directory headers. Though the incident appears to be nothing more than a surface-level prank, as Amazon owns Twitch, it could potentially signal greater security flaws. 

For example, it’s possible the hackers could have used leaked internal security data from earlier this week to discover a network vulnerability and sneak into the platform. 

The latest jab at the platforms came after Twitch assured its users it has seen “no indication” that their login credentials were stolen during the first hack. Still, concerns have remained regarding the potential for others to now spot cracks in Twitch’s security systems.

It’s also possible the Bezos hack resulted from what’s known as “cache poisoning,” which, in this case, would refer to a more limited form of hacking that allowed the infiltrators to manipulate similar images all at once. If true, the hackers likely would not have been able to access Twitch’s back end. 

The photo changes only lasted several hours before being returned to their previous conditions. 

First Twitch Hack 

Despite suspicions and concerns, it’s unclear whether the Bezos hack is related to the major leak of Twitch’s internal data that was posted to 4chan on Wednesday.

That leak exposed Twitch’s full source code — including its security tools — as well as data on how much Twitch has individually paid every single streamer on the platform since August 2019. 

It also revealed Amazon’s at least partially developed plans for a cloud-based gaming library, codenamed Vapor, which would directly compete with the massively popular library known as Steam.

Even though Twitch has said its login credentials appear to be secure, it announced Thursday that it has reset all stream keys “out of an abundance of caution.” Users are still being urged to change their passwords and update or implement two-factor authentication if they haven’t already. 

See what others are saying: (The Verge) (Forbes) (CNET)

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