Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.By the time Piper Rockelle was 12 years old she was a viral sensation. At 15 she had built up an online following and revenue streams in the millions. This year she will become an adult having scarcely had a moment in her childhood that hasn’t played out in front of cameras or been choreographed for the consumption of others by her “momager”, Tiffany Smith.Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing, a new Netflix documentary, presents a troubling case study of how children are being exploited by parents trying to tap into the lucrative, woefully unregulated, child-oriented content creation industry. The three-part series largely revolves around the testimonies of several young American influencers who were recruited by Smith to appear on a YouTube channel called The Squad — in which Piper and her “friends” would be filmed hanging out together in staged scenes to drive engagement.Many describe being kept to a punishing filming schedule — missing meals, sleep and schooling — and being compelled by Smith (and her partner Hunter Hill) to do things that were age inappropriate or beyond their comprehension. We see uncomfortable footage of young teens plugging brands, pulling upsetting pranks on one another, and in a few disturbing clips, being encouraged by Smith to kiss one another. Some of The Squad accuse Smith herself of both emotional and sexual abuse. Though she declined to provide comment for the documentary, Smith denies all allegations and has faced no criminal charges. Last year, she settled a civil lawsuit for $1.85mn with the families of 11 children who had appeared in her productions, but continues to make videos with her daughter (who also doesn’t comment here). While much of the show specifically focuses on Smith’s alleged mistreatment of Piper and the rest of The Squad, the series makes it clear that she is part of a wider problem. We hear from the parents of the other children, who admit overlooking what their children were being exposed to. Journalists and child protection workers meanwhile broaden the scope of accountability to the social platforms that do little to safeguard users from labour exploitation, online trolls or even potential predators. (An investigation by the Wall Street Journal cited here found that an alarming proportion of people following kidfluencers were in fact grown men).The series could have perhaps been a little more forensic in its examination of social media behemoths’ policies and practices. Nevertheless, it does well to reveal the underlying toxicity and dangers of a form of entertainment so often dismissed as “harmless fun”. “Until we start taking this industry seriously, these kids are screwed,” journalist Taylor Lorenz bluntly informs us.The members of The Squad themselves are hopeful their stories will serve as a “warning” to aspirational influencers, and speak movingly and maturely about their experiences. But while the series judiciously steers clear of sensationalism, there’s something also inherently uneasy about the fact that a documentary about the exploitation of children is built on teens sharing their still-fresh traumas on screen.★★★☆☆On Netflix now
