In 2011, 12 high school girls in LeRoy, New York, developed Tourette-like symptoms, including tics and involuntary movements, which gained national media attention. The school was tested for toxins, but no cause was found, and the students were eventually diagnosed with conversion disorder. The case sparked debate about the role of social media and mass hysteria in spreading symptoms, and it became a landmark example of mass psychogenic illness in the digital age.

The LeRoy high school tic outbreak has been the subject of numerous poems, stories, and documentaries that explore the intersection of health, media, and social contagion. The event has inspired writers to examine the psychology of fear in the age of social media and the role of suggestion in triggering physical symptoms. It also serves as a cautionary tale about the power of media to amplify mass hysteria, a theme that continues to resonate in contemporary discussions of health and technology.