NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Office of Homeland Security’s Threat Assessment Center is monitoring a viral online trend involving ‘unsettling’ AI-generated content that has been targeting schools and students across the state, according to a post on the agency’s official Facebook page.
The so-called “Cat in the Hat” trend, which has spread rapidly across social media in recent days, features AI-generated or edited videos and images depicting a menacing version of the Dr. Seuss character, often paired with threatening messages referencing specific schools or students. Similar posts have prompted heightened security and law enforcement investigations in Texas, Kentucky, Maryland and other states over the past several days.
Tennessee’s Threat Assessment Center is asking anyone who encounters this content to report it to local law enforcement or through the state’s SafeTN app, or online at tn.gov’s Report Suspicious Activity page.
Law enforcement agencies in other states have cautioned that participating in the trend, even as a joke, can carry real consequences. They warn that threatening posts referencing schools will be investigated and could lead to criminal charges.
In several cases outside Tennessee, investigators have said they found no credible threat tied to the posts, though officials have acknowledged the content can still cause genuine fear among students and families.
No additional details have been released on whether specific Tennessee schools have been named in circulating posts.