Teachers Can’t Hear Muted Students on Zoom
The Claim
Virtual discussion platform Zoom permits meeting hosts, such as teachers, to hear muted participants.
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Emerging story
The claim was first posted on TikTok in early February 2021. It soon took off across social media platforms.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s investigation found that the claim is incorrect. Muting a Zoom call means that the other participants in the meeting will not hear any noise coming from the muted participant or their environment.
While Zoom hosts can ask to unmute participants, they cannot unmute participants on their own. Hosts can mute participants without their consent, but cannot unmute them. Zoom says that this is due to security and privacy concerns.
Beyond checking with Zoom’s tech team, this Misbar writer also attempted to unmute students in her own virtual Zoom classroom. The action is not possible to carry out.
