Police Warn of ‘Curi’ Social Media Accounts Used to Humiliate Students and Teachers

October 23, 2026

Anonymous social media accounts created around schools are drawing the attention of Spain’s National Police, which has warned that a trend known as “curis” can cross the line from humour into cyberbullying and potentially criminal behaviour.

The profiles often use a school’s name, initials or images to publish memes, drawings and videos about everyday classroom life. While some posts are intended as harmless jokes, others target individual students or teachers with humiliating content, including remarks about physical appearance, rumours and degrading edits.

The warning was issued on Friday, 23 October, by the National Police, with the Civil Guard also highlighting the risks associated with these accounts. The authorities say anonymous profiles do not automatically protect those responsible from legal consequences.

When school memes become cyberbullying

“Curi” accounts can circulate content that students recognise as references to particular people, even when the person’s full name or photograph is not published.

A nickname, caricature, reference to a particular class or other identifying detail may be enough for classmates to recognise the person being targeted. This can expose the individual to humiliation within their school community and affect their wellbeing and relationships with classmates and teachers.

The police warning does not suggest that all accounts of this kind are abusive or illegal. The concern is specifically about content used to attack, ridicule or humiliate identifiable individuals.

Authorities also stress that describing a post as a joke, using a drawing instead of a photograph or publishing it anonymously does not prevent the content and any harm caused from being examined.

Could those responsible face legal consequences?

Depending on the content, its seriousness and the circumstances, these publications may constitute offences against moral integrity or serious insult under Spanish law. They may also give rise to civil liability.

Whether a particular post amounts to an offence depends on the facts of the individual case. An anonymous account or a humiliating meme should not automatically be treated as proof that a crime has occurred.

The warning is particularly relevant to young people who may underestimate how quickly online posts can spread or how recognisable a person can be from seemingly indirect references.

What should students and families do?

The National Police recommends preserving evidence if someone is targeted by a humiliating post. Useful material includes screenshots of the publication and relevant comments, showing the date, content and account responsible.

Those affected should also retain the account’s username and links to the profile and individual posts. The police advises reporting the content through the social media platform and avoiding sharing it further, which could increase its reach and compound the harm.

For children and teenagers, it is important to tell a trusted adult and inform the school. Victims and their families can also contact the National Police to report the situation.

The Civil Guard has similarly urged young people not to redistribute humiliating content and to seek help when they encounter it.

A warning for schools, parents and young social media users

The alert comes amid wider concern about online behaviour in school communities. In Aragón, regional education authorities have introduced common instructions for schools dealing with accounts that publish harmful content about pupils, teachers or other school staff. Reports of similar accounts have also emerged in other parts of Spain.

The warning is not evidence that a particular school in Ibiza or Formentera is affected. However, the guidance is relevant to families, educators and students throughout the Balearic Islands.

The message from law enforcement is clear: online humour becomes a serious concern when it turns an identifiable person into a target of humiliation. Anyone encountering such content should avoid spreading it, preserve relevant evidence and seek support from a trusted adult, the school or the police.

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