Expert warns social media fuelled Halloween sweets scare

An expert has warned against “warning hysteria” over tampered Halloween sweets after police said people who found metal objects in chocolate bars in Salzburg’s Parsch district had probably put them there themselves. ORF Salzburg reported that social media videos warning about such tampering may have given people the idea.

Social media specialist Karim-Patrick Bannour said warnings can spread rapidly online because people share content that shocks or intrigues them. Some young people may have copied the acts to make videos and attract attention, he said.

Since Tuesday, dozens of nails or needles have been reported in Halloween sweets internationally. Austria has recorded six cases, including the one in Parsch, but only about a quarter of the cases in the country have been solved. The Federal Criminal Police Office has not ruled out the possibility that adults tampered with sweets.

Bannour advised people to think before sharing warnings on social media, research claims themselves where appropriate and avoid following trends blindly. Similar cases have also been reported in Germany, Hungary, Sweden, Latvia, Canada and the United States.