A group of South Auckland teens have learned the hard way what not to do on social media.

A video has surfaced online which appears to show teenage boys pulling a disabled boy's chair out from under him at James Cook High School in Manurewa, shocking the online community and causing a violent backlash.

But Principal Vaughn Couillault says there was a beginning and end cut from the video footage that's taken it wildly out of context. He says the boys were reacting to an argument over a girl and as soon as the boy fell from his wheelchair they moved in to pick him up and say sorry. He says the boys realised they 'got it wrong on every level'.

The boys have received death threats and it's likely they'll have to leave the Auckland region for fears of their safety. The young girl filming is also being described as being in an extremely fragile mental state.

Principal Vaughn Couillault says the boy in the wheelchair is back at school with no mental or physical injuries and is happily engaged with his friends.

He says the risk now is from the social media flurry that has taken over the truth.

The video's been viewed over a quarter of a million times.