LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Just a few weeks ago, top executives from the biggest social media companies were called to Congress to testify about what they're doing to prevent kids from being exploited on their platforms.
Each one told senators that they continue to do everything they can to better protect kids.
That pledge also came from Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook and Meta, which also owns Instagram.
However, kids can be seen everyday on Instagram tangled up in fights at school.
Videos continue to be posted of middle school and high school students throwing punches in hallways, stomping on each other in bathrooms, and ferociously pulling hair on playing fields.
Those posts don't just continue to exist on Instagram, some for months, but they can be found on dedicated fight pages.
FOCUS found several Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) fight pages with dozens of videos.
"Looks like total chaos," a JCPS mother and teacher said.
She, who we identified as "Anne," asked to remain anonymous because she said, "I don't want my daughter to get bullied for speaking out about this issue, and I don't want any kind of retaliation with my job, because I'm a teacher."
"Anne" said nothing has been done about her complaints to the district as well as to Instagram to get the fight pages removed.
"You can go to the video and report it, but it doesn't come down," she said.
FOCUS repeatedly asked Instagram for an explanation on why the fight videos continue to exist on the platform and how more fight pages continue to pop up.
Instagram has not responded.
Meanwhile, JCPS declined an on-camera interview to address specific questions we had about the fight pages.
However, Carolyn Callahan, the district's chief communications officer, provided information via email:
When social media posts are brought to the attention of school leadership, they immediately begin looking into the situations. In cases like the Instagram pages you are talking about, principals report those to Instagram frequently, but we unfortunately have no other way of attempting to get those pages removed than through the parent companies.
If a threat is made on social media and we are made aware, the JCPS Police Department and [Louisville Metro Police] looks into it. Homeland Security also helps with online threats.
When you’re talking about fights that happen in school and are recorded and posted on social media, school staff follow the Student Support and Behavior Intervention Handbook when it comes to discipline for the students involved in the fights.
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"We're shining a spotlight in effect on these incidences when they're being filmed," Sam Corbett, a former Jefferson County Board of Education (BOE) member, said.
FOCUS brought the videos to Corbett because the current BOE president, Corrie Shull, also declined an interview.
"Are there any consequences for the kids involved in this?" Corbett asked while seeing many kids holding up cell phones to record the fights.
He concluded that posting is promoting these fights.
"I think it's a sad commentary to say that we're to the point where we need somebody who's watching and is the designated person, but it appears that we're at that point," Corbett asked.
As a mother "Anne" called the fight pages another weapon for cyber bulling.
As a teacher, she argued, how are kids supposed to succeed in school?
"In order to learn, you have to feel safe, and clearly, that is not a safe environment for learning," she said.
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