They seemed like the perfect family. Two loving parents who took painstaking care of their six happy kids. In fact, they were such a perfect family that they documented it, recording and posting videos online to give advice to other, less perfect parents.

The mother was recently charged with six counts of aggravated child abuse.

Podcaster and vlogger Ruby Franke was arrested in her home on Aug. 30, after having documented her family’s day-to-day life on her YouTube channel, “8 Passengers,” since 2015.

The arrest came after her 12-year-old son climbed out a window to beg neighbors for food and water. The neighbor, who called 911 to report the abuse, described the boy as being emaciated, with duct tape binding his limbs and wounds all over his body.  

This isn’t the first time Franke has come under fire for mistreating her children. Viewers of her channel started a petition in 2020 to have her investigated after seeing signs of abuse in her videos. These include taking away her son’s bed and withholding food as punishments. 

Child development teacher Anne Walden knows this type of abuse can be detrimental. “Children that have been punished by the parent withholding physical needs feel insecure in the parent/child relationship and are likely to experience anxiety, depression and other mental health issues,” she said. “If children need to worry about where their basic needs are coming from, it’s difficult for them to think about anything else.”

In the face of this backlash, Franke turned to Connexions, a parenting and relationship advice program which has received allegations of being abusive. The course encourages parents to take complete control over their children’s lives and even suggests that they shouldn’t love their kids unconditionally. 

There are concerns that Franke’s on-screen advice may have influenced others’ actions, causing them to mistreat their children in the same ways she does. A reported 50% of millennials say they trust influencers’ brand recommendations, and following advice from an experienced parent seems like a no-brainer. 

For Franke’s followers, this level of belief could be dangerous.

Sophomore Alaina Carslake has concerns about how easily the abuse was hidden. “People are able to fake almost anything and make themselves look good on the internet. This can be dangerous for people who trust an influencer and think they know them,” she said. 

The Franke case isn’t the first of its kind. In 2019, family vlog “Fantastic Adventures” was shut down after the mother running the account was arrested for abusing her seven adopted children behind the scenes. Now, many people are worried about even more famous families.

The ethics of family vlogs have stirred up controversy over recent years— mostly due to child labor concerns— and this is simply the next step in the debate.

“Family vloggers show their young children that can’t really give consent or understand what it means to be on the internet,” Carslake reasoned. “Anyone could see their vulnerable or embarrassing moments, which could damage them socially and emotionally for the rest of their lives.”

As Franke awaits trial, former viewers have undoubtedly replaced their interest in her family with the next up and coming influencer. And without laws forbidding child exploitation, the next ‘Franke’ family may be just a headline away from infamy.