SIU investigates Yik Yak app

By Luke Nozicka

University spokesperson Rae Goldsmith said the university is investigating Yik Yak because of inappropriate posts on the social media application.

She said the university is looking into the app, but could not give further details by press time Monday.

The Daily Egyptian does not have a Yik Yak account. Any Yik Yak post portraying itself as the Daily Egyptian is not related to or associated with the 98-year-old student-run newspaper.

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The post “SIU is investigating Yik Yak due to inappropriate posts on other students. The app will be banned throughout campus by blocking it on mobile devices with connectivity to SIU wifi starting tonight at 8,” was published from the alias account Monday. Several other posts, including replies followed.

The Daily Egyptian emailed the company’s support department to report the false representation. Yik Yak replied asking to confirm a post the newspaper flagged, but has not returned any further emails as of Monday.

According to Apple’s App Store, “Yik Yak acts like a local bulletin board for your area by showing the most recent posts from other users around you.”

“Our goal with Yik Yak was to create an open forum for mobile users to easily communicate, or Yak with one another, providing a virtual bulletin board of sorts for community engagement within a specific location,” said Tyler Droll, co-founder and CEO of the app, according to the company’s website.

This story will be updated online as more information becomes available.

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