ANALYSIS: Hate crimes do happen, but sometimes allegations turn out to be untrue or lacking important context
There were at least 12 hate crime hoaxes in the 2023-24 school year that either occurred on a high school or college campus or are otherwise linked to higher education, according to an analysis by The College Fix.
A hate crime hoax is anything considered criminal or at least an act of misconduct. This number also includes questionable hate incidents that have yet to be solved. The 2023-24 school year saw a mix of hate crime hoaxes and other situations that do not neatly fit into a narrative about racism on college campuses.
It can also be a hoax when there is no path forward for the investigation to end but there’s also no clear evidence indicating the act was an intentional hate crime.