Michael Keller

Dec 25, 2024 | nzherald.co.nz | Jennifer Valentino- DeVries |Michael Keller

“Jacky Dejo” was introduced to social media by her parents as a snowboarding prodigy. Now 18, she has seen the dark side of the internet – and turned a profit from it. For her 18th birthday in March, “Jacky Dejo,” a snowboarder, bikini model and child influencer-turned-social media entrepreneur, celebrated on the secluded island of Dominica. On Instagram, she appeared in strappy swimsuits, basking luxuriously on a black-sand beach and floating in a jungle stream.

May 16, 2024 | nzherald.co.nz | Michael Keller |Jennifer Valentino- DeVries

Ads on Instagram found an unintended audience. Photo / Amir Hamja, The New York TimesAdvertisers of merchandise for young girls find that adult men can become their unintended audience. In a test ad, convicted sex offenders inquired about a child model. When a children’s jewellery maker began advertising on Instagram, she promoted photos of a 5-year-old girl wearing a sparkly charm to users interested in parenting, children, ballet and other topics identified by Meta as appealing mostly to women.

Feb 26, 2024 | nzherald.co.nz | Jennifer Valentino- DeVries |Michael Keller

Home / LifestyleNew York TimesBy Jennifer Valentino-DeVries and Michael H. KellerSaveshareShare this articlefacebookcopy linktwitterlinkedinredditemailSeeking social media stardom for their underage daughters, mothers post images of them on Instagram. The accounts draw men sexually attracted to children, and they sometimes pay to see more. The ominous messages began arriving in Elissa’s inbox early last year. “You sell pics of your underage daughter to pedophiles,” read one.

Feb 23, 2024 | seattletimes.com | Michael Keller |Jennifer Valentino-DeVries

Instagram does not allow children under 13 to have accounts, but parents are allowed to run them — and many do so for daughters who aspire to be social media influencers. What often starts as a parent’s effort to jump-start a child’s modeling career, or win favors from clothing brands, can quickly descend into a dark underworld dominated by adult men, many of whom openly admit on other platforms to being sexually attracted to children, an investigation by The New York Times found.

Feb 23, 2024 | newsbreak.com | Michael Keller

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE