Growing up watching YouTube, I viewed many different videos, mainly those of kids my age. I would always wish that I were friends with the kids in the videos or had a life like theirs, not realizing their parents were using them for financial gain. While many of the interactions and events captured on camera seem to be real, like pranks and friendships, they are often scripted or staged.
Recently, Netflix released a documentary focusing on child exploitation revolving around one of the YouTubers I watched most, Piper Rockelle, called “Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing.” It shows the different perspectives of kids involved with Rockelle’s friend group, called The Squad. All these kids, including Rockelle’s cousins Claire and Reese RockSmith, talk about the abuse and exploitation they faced while working with Rockelle’s mother, Tiffany Smith.
I remember waiting for the series to be released to truly grasp that it was true and that I had grown up seeing it. The whole time I was watching it, I felt sick to my stomach, thinking that when I was younger, I had wanted to be involved on that exact channel. Many viewers didn’t know anything out of the ordinary since most of Rockelle’s viewers are younger, including me. We were entertained, not worried about what was going on behind the scenes.
This documentary isn’t the first time that Smith has publicly been exposed for abuse. Back in 2022, she was sued by 11 former squad members for abuse and exploitation. Smith’s boyfriend, Hunter Hill, was also listed as a defendant in the lawsuit and part of the settlement, according to the Dhillon Law Group. Originally, the legal case was roughly $2,000,000 per squad member, then being settled in 2024 for $1,850,000 without admitting wrongdoing.
Even earlier, another former squad member, Clementine Spieser, came out in 2020, posting a video on YouTube called “The truth why I left Piper Rockelle’s squad.” Spieser talks about the toxic work environment and how she was pressured to do things she felt uncomfortable doing by Rockelle’s team. She mentions talking about these issues with two fellow members, Gavin Magnus and Corinne Joy, and how they all noticed a pattern.
Spieser recently commented on that video after the documentary came out, stating that it is “misleading” and calls the mothers of The Squad members “victims” when in reality they aren’t and are “perpetrators who exploited their children for clout, fame, and money.” Unlike fellow members’ parents, Spierser’s mother cared enough to take her out of that toxic environment. When Spierser left The Squad, she experienced being blocked, sabotaged, and cyberbullied. Additionally, the other members’ mothers called her mother crazy, and some continue to do so today.
The world of child influencers is fraught with ethical challenges and potential harm. As viewers, parents, and content creators, it’s crucial to question the content people consume and the systems that allow such exploitation to occur. Guardians must prioritize the well-being of young content creators and ensure that their rights and childhoods are protected, not used for the sake of money. Everything shown on cameras, from pranks to friendships, was all fake and continues to be for many.
