In several cases, the videos are preceded by completely ordinary childhood and teenage conflicts about ex-partners, friends, and girlfriends. But the videos are used as a weapon in the conflicts and cause them to escalate violently. This is explained by several experts with insight into the subject, and their account is confirmed by DR's research.
- Twenty years ago, bullying and humiliation also took place. But now it's been amped up, says psychologist David Troutman Madsen, who, among other things, gives lectures at primary schools about social media.
In several videos, commands like 'kiss my shoe,' 'say sorry,' or 'say that you're a dickface' recur. A characteristic of the videos is that the victims are humiliated and forced to submit, explains Mia Lind Winther.
- A lot of this is about showing who's in charge, she says.
- The fact that the videos are shared online helps prolong the duration of the conflicts, increase their complexity, and amplify the consequences for everyone involved.
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Children as young as 12
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The company Darksight Analytics has investigated the phenomenon for DR. Over a period of three months, the company found 82 violence and humiliation videos featuring Danish children and young people shared on social media like TikTok, Snapchat, and Telegram.
The videos can be viewed thousands of times on social media – some videos have been seen over 100,000 times.
In 36 of them, there are clear indications that the victim and perpetrator(s) know each other. In many of them, there are also clear indications that a conflict preceded the video. In the remaining videos, DR has not been able to determine whether the victim and perpetrator(s) know each other.
The vast majority of victims in the 82 videos are boys, and many of them look very young.
This confirms the experiences of Save the Children. Mia Lind Winther says that it is often children as young as 12-14 years old who contact them about violence and humiliation videos.
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How we found the 82 videos
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Over a period of three months, the company Darksight Analytics, on behalf of DR, investigated the spread of violence and humiliation videos featuring Danish young people on social media.
The videos were found through systematic digital research and OSINT methods – i.e., using open sources – on TikTok, Telegram, Snapchat, and Instagram. It was necessary to create fake profiles to gain access to the content. The profiles did not impersonate real people.
DR subsequently reviewed the videos and categorized them based on whether there were clear indications of relationships between the perpetrator(s) and the victim. In some cases, specific conflicts and people are mentioned. In other cases, the surroundings provide an indication that there is a relationship – for example, if the video was filmed in a classroom.
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Inspired by what the algorithm serves
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The inspiration for making the videos comes – according to the experts – from the very same social media where the videos are spread.
Here, transgressive and uncomfortable content is 'rewarded' because it startles us and thus captures our attention, explains Mia Lind Winther. And once you've shown interest in one violent video, the algorithms give you more of the same.
In this way, violence and humiliation videos can generate many views, likes, and shares – popularity and recognition, in other words. Something young people crave, explains David Troutman Madsen.
- They make the videos because they have learned through the technological market logics that violent content is what reaches the most people, he says.
The company Darksight Analytics has investigated the spread of violence and humiliation videos for DR and found 82 videos. It has been possible to geolocate 15 of them.
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A triple assault
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Besides classic childhood and youth conflicts, there can be a number of other reasons why humiliation and violence videos are made. Some are made in gang-related environments, while others have ties to specific hardcore online environments where children and young people are pressured into recording videos with the sole purpose of humiliating others, explains Mia Lind Winther.
Regardless of how the videos are made, they have serious consequences for those affected. Mia Lind Winther describes it as 'a triple assault'.
* First, there is the physical violence or the humiliation itself.
* Second, there were often others present who did not intervene.
* The third assault is the sharing and spreading of the video.
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Understand the origin of the videos
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*Where do the videos circulate?*
On the social media platforms TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, and on the messaging service Telegram. Some of the videos have been played over 180,000 times on TikTok.
*Where are the videos made?*
The study from Darksight Analytics assesses that the videos are produced across Denmark. It has been possible to geolocate 15 out of 82 videos. Four of the videos were recorded in Jutland, while the rest were recorded in Zealand – most in Copenhagen.
9 of the videos are estimated to have been recorded near schools, leisure clubs, and residential care facilities.
*Who are the victims and the attackers?*
The people in the videos are children and young people. Victims and perpetrators are in 73 out of 82 cases boys or men. It is assessed that the perpetrators are both ethnic Danes and people of other ethnic backgrounds.
It is typically the latter that weighs most heavily, explains Mia Lind Winther.
- They are incredibly affected by the thought that others will see what they have been subjected to, she says.
DR has contacted Snapchat, Meta, and TikTok. They unanimously state that they are working to prevent illegal or harmful content on their platforms.
In the new documentary series 'Brutal Children', DR investigates how violence and humiliation videos are shared online. You can watch the documentary series on DRTV:
Brutal Children ( https://www.dr.dk/drtv/serie/brutale-boern_627993 ) Documentary | 1 SEASON
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