What is the ‘Cat in the Hat’ trend? Inside the creepy AI-fuelled phenomenon now triggering US school warnings, police action and arrests

There is a scary trend of images of Dr. Seuss' ‘Cat in the Hat’ on social media that has moved far away from being an internet meme and has been causing the police to investigate and arrest teens in the US.

The trend includes images and videos of a life-size Cat in the Hat that resembles Mike Myers' version of the character from the movie released in 2003. The video shows the character at the doorstep of a house, school, or deserted street, along with the threat that the character is "coming" for the school, community, or student.

How the Cat in the Hat trend started

According to a report by The Guardian citing BBC, the trend seems to have originated in Ireland and the UK in August, when AI-created pictures and videos transformed the normally cute and cheerful cartoon character ominous. Some of the posts were fake and included images, which were said by Irish police to be created by AI, while some had people themselves dressed up as Cat in the Hat.

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It is after this that the trend made its way to other social media platforms such as TikTok and Snapchat and became viral in the US and Canada with users starting to mention real schools, towns, and students.

Why US schools and police are concerned

Despite authorities’ continuous claims that many of the postings are fake, and that the investigations revealed there is no credible threat, the real locations and people named in the posts compelled schools and police to take the posts seriously.

For instance, in Louisville, Kentucky, Assumption High School canceled its classes and activities on August 31 because of disturbing social media postings. According to the Louisville Metro Police, no credible threat was detected, but the posts were under investigation.

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Moreover, in Grand Junction, Colorado, a heavy police presence was witnessed in two schools following reports of a posting which indicated that an individual may turn up in a middle school and random households. No credible threat was detected but a 14-year-old student was arrested on Aug. 31 on charges of harassment and obstruction of staff and faculty members or students.

Teens are now facing charges

This phenomenon has also led to some criminal investigations in other places. In Hutchinson, Kansas, police arrested a 15-year-old high school student who faces two charges of criminal threat after detectives found out that the teenager was associated with a local TikTok account involved in the hoax.

In Georgia, two Worth County High School students were charged after it became known that the students had taken part in the hoax, according to the school district and a local broadcaster WALB.

Thus, the police and schools ask students not to repost threatening posts about the Cat in the Hat even as a joke. Instead, it has been advised that any suspicious post should be reported to their parents, school administrators or the police.