COPS and schools have issued a warning to parents about seemingly-innocent emojis that actually convey secret incel messages.
Following the success of Netflix’s show Adolescence, police have handed parents a “periodic table of sinister emojis” which are said to hide violent messages.
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Some 60 symbols – from a snowflake meaning cocaine to kidney beans referring to an incel, an involuntary celibate – were included in the chart.
The “emoji code” was produced by the education charity For Working Parents and references self-harm, extremism, far-right ideology and sex.
A doughnut, for example, is meant to mean anal sex, whilst a horse is code for ketamine.
Other symbols include a pair scissors, which denote self-harm, and a ghost which refers to being anti-woman.
The founder of the education charity Amit Kalley has implored parents to stay in the loop with their childrens’ “digital lives” as this could prevent them from falling into dangerous situations – like being groomed online.
He added that it was important for parents to normalise conversations about the “online world” to avoid kids getting involved in precarious sexual behaviours and hiding it from their family.
He told the Telegraph: “The table I created is far from an exhaustive list, but I wanted to include emojis beyond incel and misogyny because lots of young people are groomed online into drugs and violence […]”
Schools across the country are making use of the table to show parents that seemingly innocent emojis may have a deeper meaning.
Hailsham Community College in East Sussex told parents how the hit-series Adolescence had brought to the fore contemporary challenges in schools.
A spokesperson said: “[It has] shone a light on how emojis can, in some instances, be used as a coded language with a more sinister meaning.”
Despite its uptick in support over the last few weeks, this isn’t the first time an emoji table has been put together.
In 2022, Surrey Police said a “secret world of emojis” was being used by teenagers to communicate about drugs and violence, whilst earlier in March Nottinghamshire Police issued its own list of 52 codewords.
Adolescense, the show which brought these issues into the limelight, has been praised Sir Keir Starmer who said he wants it shown in schools across the UK.
He said on Monday: “There’s a reason why the debate has suddenly sparked into life.
“A lot of people who work with young people at school or elsewhere recognise that we may have a problem with boys and young men that we need to address.”
Co-created by Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne, the show launched on March 13.
Figures by ratings body Barb show Adolescence has made history by becoming the first ever streaming show to top weekly ratings in the UK.
Latest stats reveal Adolescence has been watched by 6.45 million people in its first seven days.
By comparison, Fool Me Once was watched by 6.3 million people in its first week upon being released in January.
5.94 million people tuned in for episode two, while 4.65 million watched the third instalment.
As well as Fool Me Once, Adolescence also beat the likes of Death in Paradise and The Apprentice.
Each of the programme’s four episodes were shot in one continuous take.
The gripping crime drama follows Jamie (Owen Cooper), a 13-year-old accused of murdering Katie, a girl at his school.
Viewers watch as the crime’s aftermath unfolds, as well as the wider effect it has on Jamie, his family and the community.
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