Anonymous “curis”—digital caricatures of teachers, students and everyday scenes from schools—have spread rapidly during the first eight weeks of the academic year. The drawings appear on TikTok and Instagram, often under accounts identified by a school’s name, initials or municipality, sometimes alongside its emblem. Authors also reverse the name of the institution to make the profiles harder to find.
Many of the images use harmless or childish humor, such as portraying a student celebrating after passing an exam they expected to fail. Others include hurtful, sexist or xenophobic mockery, causing concern among teachers and specialists in school bullying. Police forces have also issued warnings about some of the content.
School leaders say the phenomenon can reflect recognizable behavior within their institutions, but warn that anonymity and uncontrolled exposure on social networks make it easier for satire to cross into direct offence. One headteacher described the accounts as a potential threat to school coexistence, even when their content does not meet the legal threshold for hate crimes, libel or slander.
In several cases, schools have reported the accounts to police without immediate action because the material was not considered criminal. Internal school rules could allow institutions to impose disciplinary measures on content deemed harmful to coexistence, but anonymous profiles make it difficult to identify those responsible.
Some schools have managed to trace authors through the comments posted on the accounts. Although the original publications are anonymous, commenters may identify themselves, allowing staff to follow connections among students and pressure those involved to close the profiles. A related subgenre has also emerged, portraying the authors’ risk of being discovered heroically and attacking students who report them.
Other schools are focusing on prevention. Measures include discussions with students led by tutors and plans to involve families. School leaders say they cannot monitor every publication and are calling for greater responsibility in the use of phones and digital platforms.
Ana Hernández, head of the Mossos d’Esquadra’s Citizen Assistance and Community Policing Unit, warned that anonymity can create a false sense of impunity. Because the author is often a classmate, online conflicts may later spill over into the school or the street. In serious cases, police open proceedings and contact social networks to request that accounts be removed.
Students interviewed for the report expressed differing views. One 17-year-old considered the caricatures simply funny, while an 18-year-old said some crossed the line by targeting people’s intelligence or physical appearance.
Pablo Duchement, an information technology teacher and court expert in digital crimes against minors, said that content that appears harmless may still hurt the person depicted. Because curis are public, he warned, they can cause damage and create reputational labels, particularly when they ridicule people for their appearance or sexual orientation. He expects the trend to reach a higher level of participation before its consequences become more visible.
Sources: El País Educación.