North students who have an Instagram account may be well aware of a parody account created for Bob Carnaroli, North’s principal. The handle is “principalcanoli,” which showcases one of many nicknames created for the principal. Many of the posts are memes or affirmational posts, which are intended to be repeated daily to see a change in daily life.

The majority of the memes posted feature the school and staff within it. One post shows a picture of Jesus, with Gene Seese’s face edited onto the picture. The image can be seen as sacrilegious, which can put Carnaroli at the subject of a discrimination accusation. At the time of homecoming, a post was shared with the text “I will not crash into the weird kids at Homecoming dance this year.” The text categorizes students and uses negative labels in order to cater towards a specific audience. By using Carnaroli’s name to share the mockery, the account is in danger of tarnishing the principal’s reputation.

Another post shows an image of a vaping device, known as an “Elf Bar.” Because of the association with Carnaroli and North Forsyth, the post may be interpreted as encouraging nicotine usage on campus, due to its display on the account. Posted on Dec 17, an image of a burnt pizza is captioned “2022 cafeteria options!” The post insults the food provided by the school and ridicules students who must buy their lunch at school.

In contrast, the biography of the account does clarify that it is a parody account. However, upon a quick glance, it does not seem that way. A lot of times, posts are seen in the feed or reposted onto a user’s story. In those instances, the biography is not showcased and can lead to confusion. Without a clear indicator in each post or even the username, glances can confuse “cannoli” with Carnaroli, resulting in a negative opinion formed by the user.

Order in the court. The jury has found the suspect guilty with a charge of defamation. With the background of what may seem like innocent posts, hidden meanings encourage followers to partake in harmful behaviors, while degrading students in less than indirect posts.