AI deepfakes and armchair sleuths: The families of missing people being trolled online
Natasha Walker can be sure that at least twice a year someone will contact her claiming to be her missing sister, Katrice Lee.
Katrice disappeared from a supermarket in Germany in 1981, when she was just two years old. In the decades since, his family has been subjected to brutal abuse.
They are repeatedly targeted by impersonators, trolls and conspiracy theorists “who are really trying to put the knife in,” Natasha claims.
When Natasha first started receiving messages from people claiming to be Katrice, she was questioning whether the person reaching out to her was her sister. He now chooses to ignore them.
“If you truly believe you are a missing person, you go to the police and give them credible information as to why you think you are that missing person. You don’t contact their sister and expect them to hand you a DNA kit,” Natasha said.
During Independent and the Missing People charity aims to raise £165,000 to launch SafeCall, a service for the 70,000 children who go missing in the UK each year. We spoke to those who have had to endure the additional torture of online harassment.
donate Here or donate £10 by texting SAFE to 70577. Missing Persons – enough for one child to get help.
Since 2014, one woman has been jailed for harassing Katrice’s family, while another was given an 18-week prison sentence suspended for two years for malicious communications after using social media to impersonate the missing toddler. Natasha said the abuse had become generally brutal and was now a brutal routine in their lives.
This month alone, another person contacted Natasha, claiming to be her sister.
Natasha said that some people truly believe they are Katrice, while others act with malicious intent. At one point, he was dealing with two women simultaneously claiming to be his sisters, even though DNA tests proved otherwise.
“Finally, one of them was talking to the other. So I said, ‘You can both talk and argue, because you can’t both be Katrice,'” Natasha added.
In today’s age of social media, families of missing children must also battle online trolls, armchair sleuths, malicious comments, fake accounts, and even AI hoaxes.
For many people who have lost loved ones, this digital attack has become inevitable. It can hinder investigations, create false hopes, scare families away from making public appeals, or even prevent a missing person from returning home.
Missing People’s head of digital development, Amy-Kathleen Walker, has supported countless families facing abuse, including Katrice’s.
He said he has seen all forms of hate in his 14 years of life. He said the decision can often be harsher when the missing person is a child.
It is now standard to warn family members about abuse they may face. She said: “You’re already in the worst place. You’re so worried and so scared about the person you love.”
“Now may I also warn you that the world is not a very nice place? And people on social media are likely to be horrible to you. What a scary conversation to have with someone who is already in their darkest moments.”
Beyond the cruel comments and messages, some families face much worse situations. Kevin Gosden, whose son Andrew went missing in 2007 when he was 14, had to wake up to AI deepfake videos of himself and his son.
He described it as “a feeling of utter powerlessness and helplessness” in an environment that “feels like a deeply dystopian world.”
Many families encounter fake social media accounts created in the name of their missing loved ones, sometimes to impersonate that person or sometimes just out of malicious intent.
Ms Walker said in many cases she truly believed the person behind the account was that missing child, especially if it was a child who went missing at a young age. Even if it is proven untrue, they often do not go quietly and resort to trolling to try to convince the family otherwise.
He added: “You really have to talk to someone and ask them, ‘Why did you do this? What were you hoping to accomplish? Were you trying to shut these people down, or did you just want to be scary?’ “I would love the opportunity to ask.”
Other families face conspiracies and constant speculation about their loved ones’ disappearance. Ms Walker said sometimes this was not intended to cause any harm but could actually cause harm to the missing person or their family.
It may also prevent people from returning. “Imagine if all these conspiracy theories about you were on the internet and they never went away,” he added.
The mother of Jay Slater, who died after going missing in Tenerife last year, is calling for “Jay’s Law” to be implemented to prevent people from facing the same abuse he suffered.
Mr Slater’s disappearance has attracted a number of conspiracy theories, and his mother, Debbie Duncan, has been accused of various offences, including covering up a murder and creating a fake GoFundMe page.
“One content creator even said: ‘How do you know it’s Jay in the coffin? It needs to be dug up,'” Ms. Duncan said. Mirror. “It hurts. They don’t know our family or anything about us, but they’re allowed to say whatever they want.”
Ms Walker said: “Please remember before you hit send, before you upload that thing, it belongs to someone else… the harm isn’t just the bruises, the harm is also the words and the intentions so be kind.”
Please donate now Join The Independent and Missing People’s SafeCall campaign, which aims to raise £165,000 to create a free, nationwide service to help vulnerable children find safety and support.
If you or a loved one is lost, text or call the charity Missing People on 116 000 for advice, support and options. It’s free, confidential and non-judgmental. Or visit www.missingpeople.org.uk/get-help
