On the evening of 10/3, two 11th-grade students from class 11A5 posted a video closely filming a classmate as she was doing homework. By 12/3, these two students continued to use artificial intelligence (AI) to edit and combine photos of their classmate, creating another video and posting it on social media. Both videos were intended to mock the victim's appearance.

The videos and the incident quickly spread on Threads, a social media platform, garnering 516,000 interactions and 1.5 million views. Many people expressed outrage, viewing this as an act of bullying.

Speaking to VnExpress on 14/3, Pham Khac Quy, a representative of Ngo Gia Tu High School, characterized the actions of the two female students as school violence from a psychological perspective.

"The students thought they were just teasing each other, but this cannot excuse their wrongdoing. Using someone else's personal images to post online is not allowed," Quy said. "The school does not condone this behavior."

According to Quy, the homeroom teacher for class 11A5 saw the video on the evening of 10/3 and asked the students to remove it. However, the teacher "did not timely" coordinate with the parents to resolve the situation.

Quy acknowledged that the teacher lacked experience in handling such matters and therefore bore some responsibility for the escalation of the incident. Ngo Gia Tu High School has suspended her homeroom duties and transferred her to another teacher.

The two female students who filmed and posted the videos were required to publicly apologize to the victim and submit a self-criticism report. Quy stated that this is the highest disciplinary measure currently allowed under the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training.

The parents of the two students requested that their children be allowed to temporarily withdraw from school for home management and education, which the school approved.

According to Quy, if the victim's family finds the resolution unsatisfactory and makes a request, the school will forward the case to the police. The school representative noted that the two students involved in bullying were not considered "problematic" students; the victim, however, is introverted and quiet.

"This is an unfortunate incident. We want this to be a profound lesson for the students," he said, adding that the school is currently focusing on motivating and stabilizing the students' morale, as they are at a sensitive age.

Ngo Gia Tu High School. Photo: School's website

Ngo Gia Tu High School is a private institution, established in 1998, located in the former Ha Dong district. Each year, the school enrolls approximately 450 10th-grade students.

In the context of developing technology and social media, cyberbullying has become a concern for many education experts. A United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) survey indicates that one in five students has experienced online violence. Common behaviors include mocking, spreading images, posting insulting comments, or forming online groups to badmouth classmates, all of which cause psychological harm to victims.

Thanh Hang