Social Media Dangers Exposed by Mom Posing as 11-Year-Old

ROO VOICEOVER: I never thought I would be chasing child predators. It was two years ago when our

team intercepted conversations between a 12-year-old girl and a 40-year-old

pedophile. He wasn't just talking to her — he was abusing her, coercing her,

collecting images and videos, and no one in her life — her parents, a sixth-grade

teacher, her friends — knew what was happening. I have a sixth-grader of my

own. I have three kids actually. But you don't have to be a parent to be

devastated by this. I work for a tech company that uses artificial

intelligence to detect issues like grooming and sexual predation, and this

is something we see constantly. These abuses are occurring quietly, and mostly

go unreported, and we want parents to know exactly what we know about what

happens online. So we made a plan. NEWS ANNOUNCER: A man has been arrested for allegedly raping a

15-year-old. Instagram has become the number-one social media site. We've also

seen firsthand the predatory symbiotic relationship that exists between

Instagram and Snapchat. ROO VOICEOVER: We would create a fictitious 15-year-old girl

complete with a believable social media identity, put her online, and document how

long it would take for a predator to approach her. But creating a person out

of thin air is complicated. We needed photos, but we knew we couldn't use an

actual teenager. It would have to be someone on our team. I'm 37,

but our graphic designers assured me that with the wonders of photo

manipulation, they could magically make me look over two decades younger. We

bought clothes and accessories, studied body language and facial expressions.

We methodically covered and edited signs of aging, wrinkles, weight shifts, and stretch

marks. Meanwhile, we coordinated with federal, state, and local law enforcement.

Then, we built a story around her — a history, a family, a social circle.

Libby was born in 2004 and is a sophomore who recently moved to Indiana.

We created multiple online accounts for Libby, prominently displayed her age, and

posted typical teen content. We even created virtual friends for Libby, who

would comment on her posts. With everything in place, we would launch the

project, give it a few months, and see if anyone would buy it. So we hit the button

and Libby went live.

Within the first hour of posting on Libby's accounts, seven adult men

contacted her. By the end of nine days, that number was 92. The conversations

ranged in severity from making sexual comments to sharing and requesting

explicit photos and videos to manipulation and threats.

The onslaught was so massive, it took five of us playing Libby full-time to

keep up.

We decided to move off-site where we could scale up the operation and gather

as much information and evidence as possible.

Since Libby's 15, men might try to falsely justify their actions towards

her because of her proximity to adulthood. Would parents question, "Where's

the bar?" Would a 13-year-old face the same barrage of predators? A 12-year

old? How young could it possibly go?

The graphics team transformed me into 11-year-old Bailey.

Bailey is afraid of the dark. She hasn't had her first crush yet. She's still

prepubescent. A parent might assume Bailey would be insulated from any sort

of predatory attack. We launched our 11-year-old persona online.

One like from a guy — his profile photo

... is a penis. TITANIA: One minute and seven seconds. We have a message request...

ROO: Although, sorry, two more requests just came in. How much time? A

minute and 40 seconds? TITANIA: Yeah. How old are you? Because of the profile,

you know that that is a child. It also says in the profile that the child is

in sixth grade. ROO: Another one. TITANIA: That's just boom,

boom, boom, boom. ROO VOICEOVER: An incoming video call in less than 5 minutes.

PREDATOR: Don't be shy. ROO: They all say, Don't be shy." ROO VOICEOVER: Few parents

know just how dangerous these platforms are for so many kids, so we brought some

on-site so they could see for themselves. 11-year-old Bailey's persona was

approached with an even more disturbing level of manipulation and requests.

While the majority of the abuse happened from a distance, our child profiles also

receive requests to meet up in person — especially our 15-year-old persona.

28-year-old Keith was relentless. Like the others, he took no issue with Libby's age.

He shared explicit videos of himself. He treated the virginity of an underage

girl as a prize to be stolen. It was a tough decision, but if Keith wanted to

meet Libby in person, we would let him. We synched up with our law enforcement

contacts, and within 24 hours, we were on the ground and ready to meet. We already

had evidence of what he had done online, but was he willing to carry things out

in real life? We knew 37-year-old me attempting to pass for a 15-year-old

Libby would be a challenge, but I would wear a hat, a lot of makeup, and a big

sweatshirt, and see if he showed up.

LIBBY: Oh hi! Good, how are you? Nice to meet you too.

LIBBY: Good.

LIBBY: Well, yeah! Wait, so do you want to go for a walk first?

LIBBY: You know, I'm a little nervous.

LIBBY: I've never done anything like this before, so ... I'm a little nervous.

LIBBY: Yeah... Okay, um...

LIBBY: Are you OK with me being 15?

LIBBY: Um, are you hungry?

NEWS ANNOUNCER: Cyber tips coming in from the National Center for Missing and Exploited

... Bark turns over these potential child predators to the National Center for Missing and

Exploited Children ... Using the app has led to arrests like this one in Florida last

year. ROO VOICEOVER: The brutal reality is that a predator doesn't have to be in the same

room, building, or even country to abuse a child. Libby and Bailey may not be real, but

they represent countless children who are being sexually and psychologically

abused — both online and in real life. I think about how I would have felt as a

young, impressionable child. I would have kept the abuses to myself for fear of

being ashamed and blamed. I would have suffered with it — secretly and quietly.

CHILD ON PHONE: Hi, Mama! ROO: Hi, did have a good day? CHILD: Yeah. I was wondering ... so in two more days you're gonna come back? ROO: That's right. CHILD: I love you. ROO: I love you too. Our work has led to

numerous arrests, but it's a drop in the bucket. Our work, nor the work of law

enforcement or legislation, will ever be able to protect children as well as

engaged parents and guardians can. When asked, my advice for parents is to talk

to your kids — early and often. Know what apps they're using, and with whom they're

communicating. When facing crisis, kids need a soft place to land. Make sure they

know they can come to you for help.