One of the leading universities in the United States has withdrawn offers of admission from at least 10 prospective students after they were found to have posted "sexually explicit" memes and messages that sometimes targeted minority groups in a private Facebook chat.

According to The Harvard Crimson newspaper, about 100 members of the Class of 2021 formed the messaging group on Facebook in late December to share memes about popular culture.

Eventually, some students suggested forming an offshoot group in which students could share obscene, "R-rated" memes, a student told the Crimson, which is the newspaper for Harvard University.