Over one hundred Aurora teens have been victimized by the recent sextortion scheme that took place on Instagram. This is a serious situation that impacts an incredible amount of people, and should be treated as such.
Unfortunately, much of the focus has been diverted from the most important thing: finding who owned the account and getting justice for the victims. It’s an issue, particularly among adults, who should have a better understanding of the gravity of the situation.
A few news reports have focused on the inclusion of technology, especially because one of the photos was originally believed to be created by AI or doctored in some way. This has led to a fear that people could become victims of similar schemes despite not having any real illicit photos to leak.
This is a viable concern, and I agree that there should be extra protections against AI because of its capabilities. But only one photo in this case was suspected to be a forgery, something we’re not even sure of now. There were at least one hundred photos in total. When less than one percent of the illicit photos used in an extortion scheme are suspected to be faked, it’s a factor, yes, but it shouldn’t be the focus of an article about the case.
This situation also shouldn’t lead to the blaming of technology as a whole, which thankfully I haven’t seen a lot of. This scandal was carried out by people who used social media as a tool to spread their hate. These photos weren’t spread by Instagram, they were spread by people with malicious intentions–it’s important we remember that.
The school districts whose students have been victimized also seem to be more focused on keeping their positive reputations than actually protecting their students. Friday, January 19th after the scandal happened, Cherry Creek told CBS that they “aren’t sure if any of their students are involved.”
Less than a week later on January 22nd, APD released their first statement about their investigation, confirming that multiple teens involved were from schools in the Cherry Creek school district. In an article released by the Sentinel that same day, the district flipped their script, stating that they are “supporting the investigation in any way they can.”
I am sure that Cherry Creek was well aware of what was going on that Friday. Based on the statement by APD, students had been reporting the account to SROs and likely school administrators since the 16th. I find it highly unlikely that they were in the dark three days after the account(s) blew up. What reason would they have to lie other than to try and save face?
They must have also known it was a losing battle. APD would eventually release a statement about their investigation, including what schools they knew were involved. A list that would end up including their schools, as we have seen. I wonder if keeping their name out of the press for a few extra days was worth it. Their statement that tried to absolve them from the blame inadvertently told the involved students that they weren’t worth supporting. They only came out and said they were helping the investigation after the cat was out of the bag. Their delay in commenting on the situation couldn’t have given any victims in their school district confidence in their declaration of support.
Unfortunately, Aurora Public Schools is guilty of this too. Tuesday, January 23rd, 9News Denver came to interview members of the Raider Review to credit us for being the first to break the story–a major accomplishment. Attending the interview was a Public Information Officer for APS, whose only motivation for showing up was to ensure the reporter included the fact that Principal Lisa Grosz released an email about the situation to parents on January 17th, the day after the accounts first showed up.
Not to sound ungrateful, but there was no congratulations or any acknowledgment of our feat. I don’t think he even spoke a word to any of us. His only focus was to ensure that the reporter made APS look good. I imagine that goal was deemed extra important because Rangeview has been directly mentioned in almost every article that’s been published regarding the scandal. I understand that having a school in their district be firmly attached to a sextortion scheme isn’t a good look. However, it’s been connected to us because we’re the ones who broke the story. We’re the reason why Rangeview’s receiving media attention, and it’s been positive attention highlighting us for our contributions to the investigation. At least a slight acknowledgment would have been nice.
Despite the other problems, I think the biggest issue overall is the frequent use of victim blaming. The rhetoric that because a person took illicit photos of themselves, it’s ultimately their fault they’ve gotten out isn’t a new concept. It seems to be a common response to situations like this one. It should not be. I’m ashamed that it’s often the only comment someone has for the situation, especially when the same judgment isn’t directed towards the perpetrators.
I can understand why it’s stated, specifically when it’s by people in authority positions like school administrators. If a person doesn’t take the photo, there’s no chance of a (genuine) illicit photo of them getting out. It’s the same idea that abstinence is the best way to keep from getting pregnant.
However, it should not be the only statement, nor should it be the first thing someone says about the issue. Being a victim of a sextortion scheme is hard enough as it is. Adding the feeling that the entire world is pointing fingers makes a bad situation even worse. This should be a time of support and rallying around the people who have been hurt, not a time to tell them they deserve it. Because they don’t. Nobody deserves to have their nudes leaked for the world to see.
Is sending an illicit photo not the smartest decision? Perhaps. But we’re teenagers! We’re in the period of our lives where we should be making mistakes and learning from them. APD Police Sergeant Joseph Sullivan, who is part of the Internet Crimes Against Children task force, agreed in an interview with Denver7. He stated that “…when kids make mistakes, it’s not their fault. They’re still trying to learn and grow up” (Sullivan). We aren’t perfect, and people shouldn’t expect us to be. Mistakes are a part of growing up, and it shouldn’t be a big to-do that we make them.
The problem is that we should be able to trust the people around us with sensitive information, whether that be secrets or photos, and trust that they can keep it to themselves. It’s unfortunate we live in a world where that trust cannot be afforded to us. Someone leaking other’s nudes speaks volumes about them and what kind of person they are, not what kind of person the victim is.
I haven’t seen enough focus on getting justice for the victims, those who have been wronged by this scheme. Too much attention has been put on blaming technology and the victims, while most of us have tried to ignore the situation entirely. At least a hundred people have been hurt, embarrassed, and defamed. Why haven’t we been in support of them? Why haven’t we demanded they get their justice for the turmoil they’ve been through?
