A warning is spreading on social media that advises readers to avoid joining a WhatsApp group called “Interschools” since it belongs to ISIS and you cannot leave the group after joining.
An example of the warning from June 2017 can be seen below –
There is a ‘whatsapp group called ‘Interschools, if invited, don’t join the group, it belongs to Daesh(ISIS). If you join the group you will not be able to exit from it, be vigilant, please inform others, send it to your relatives and children on whatsapp so that they will also be careful.
The warning is an absurd and nonsensical hoax. There is no evidence to support the baseless claims that the ISIS terror groups are running WhatsApp groups with these names and the assertion that those who join these groups are unable to leave doesn’t make any sense. WhatsApp users are free to leave whatever groups they like and there is no mechanism or method where the creator of any WhatsApp group can prevent members from leaving them.
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While such groups with this name may exist on WhatsApp, there is nothing to suggest they match the description in these warnings and there is a high chance that they’ve been created in response to these silly warnings.
Unfounded hoaxes that claim certain social media groups or communities are covertly run by nefarious admins with malevolent intentions are a popular theme of social media hoax. For example the rumour that a Facebook group called “becoming a Mother and Father was the greatest gift of my life” was secretly run by pedophiles has been spreading on social media as far back as 2010!
The “Interschools” hoax above seems to have been inspired by a nearly-identical worded rumour that circulated earlier in the year with “Firdaus we ascend” replacing “Interschools”. See below –
There is a watsup group called ‘Firdaus we ascend’, if invited, don’t join the group, it belongs to Daesh. If you join the group you will not be able to exit from it, be vigilant, please inform others – send it to your relatives and children on WhatsApp so that they remain careful.
The warnings are all hoaxes and should not be taken seriously.