31st October 2014

Thanks to the world wide web (or the internet), a muggle non-corporeal platform that allows for instant communication, an American trend is starting to threaten the Statute of Secrecy on an international scale.

"Witches live among us!" joked what they call a 'meme', part and parcel of a photograph featuring several robed individuals standing around a fire in the woods. This photo has now been identified as non-wix related, taken in White Mountain National Forest, New England.

Similar taglines and images of what muggles consider to be 'witchy' looking persons continue to be disseminated through the internet. What began as absurdist humour last Halloween has taken root across certain sects of the United States, causing a stir in CAWW.

Last week, its Federal Bureau of Covert Vigilance and No-Maj Obliviation initiated a State of Caution in various hotspots - including the infamous town of Salem, where it is reported that children are being ostracised at elementary schools on suspicion of practicing witchcraft. In many cases, the children are simply muggle eccentrics or other peoples who do not adhere to social norms.

In order to curb similar behaviour here, the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes is cooperating with the Muggle Affairs Office to ensure that this muggle phenomenon remains nothing but a fictitious trend in the eyes of our non-magical counterparts.

Leon Halloran, Head Obliviator and formerly of CAWW employ, remarked that "... it is easier here, with lower populations and a more distinct separation between the worlds."

He goes on to explain that CAWW continues to struggle with minor breaches due to a higher level of integration between the two worlds, in addition to having vaster and more spread out wizarding communities.

"We are treating the matter with extreme seriousness," responded a CAWW diplomat when reached for comment, "and we see it as our responsibility, as one of the world's largest magical societies, to deal with the threat efficiently. The last thing we want is for this to have a global knock-on effect."

Minister Solomon Carstairs has expressed both sympathy and worry in light of these statute breaches. He encourages vigilance against the blurring of lines between the two worlds, and is openly concerned about the rise of Futurism in Great Britain.

"We must not forget our history of persecution," warned the Minister of Magic. "There can only be peace and safety so long as the Statute of Secrecy is preserved."