Fitch officials searching for culprit who issued Ebola hoax tonight

By ROBERT CONNELLY

rconnelly@vindy.com

AUSTINTOWN

A prank on social media caused an Ebola scare in the Austintown schools community Thursday.

Schools Superintendent Vincent Colaluca said Thursday night a Fitch High School student or recent graduate whom they had not yet identified manipulated an image from WKBN TV’s website to issue the threat.

The social media platform used is called Kik. Colaluca explained that it is an instant messaging platform that can take a photo and add a caption.

According to Kik’s website’s, users can exchange videos, stickers, and drawings, and tools can be used with mobile web pages to “help developers optimize, distribute and monetize their web content ... Users can search for and send any website.”

Colaluca said someone went onto WKBN’s website, took its logo and used a name of one of its reporters and wrote a headline saying a Fitch student had contracted Ebola.

The prank alleged a connection between a student and the Akron area and Amber Joy Vinson, the Texas nurse who cared for the patient in Texas who died of Ebola, then flew to the Cleveland-Akron area before becoming sick with Ebola herself.

“It’s a hoax. Someone copied information from the WKBN website and typed it in themselves,” Colaluca said, adding that there is no Ebola in the township.

WKBN provided a statement from their senior counsel, Joshua Pila, Thursday night on the incident.

“We condemn the false use of our name and logo for this vicious hoax spread on the Internet. We are in contact with the school department and are investigating,” Pila said in an emailed statement.

Colaluca said the district has reached out to Austintown Police Department. However, Lt. Mark Skowron said they had been working with Fitch principal Chris Berni but “There’s really nothing for us to do at this point. It’s probably a kid trying to get a kid off school tomorrow.”

He added, “There’s really no crime being committed at this point that we know of ... If [Austintown schools] need our assistance, they will call us.”

Colaluca said of possible charges, “In my eyes it’s inducing panic ... Hopefully maybe there will be charges filed.”