Everything is not always as it seems, and this has been especially true in the case of former YouTube vlogger Ruby Franke. Hulu released a three-part documentary series about the convicted child abuser and the Franke case. The series shed light on Ruby’s children, husband, and friends. The story is sickening, but not surprising to many who have followed the family for years.
Ruby’s claim to fame was her family vlog channel “8 Passengers” which featured her life as a mom to six kids. Over the years, viewers noticed strange things in the YouTube videos. Once,Ruby mentioned that her oldest son, Chad Franke, had his bed taken away for six months; Chad was also sent to a wilderness wellness camp, known for abuse and child labor.
Sophomore Talissa Porteu De la Morandiere said these channels often start innocently, when asked why Ruby’s children might have consented to being filmed. “You don’t realize when things start spiraling into something completely different.”
The Franke children were sheltered, and eventually Ruby asked her husband Kevin Franke for a separation. Before it was revealed about the abuse behind the scenes, Kevin claimed to know nothing about the mistreatment. Talissa said he had been “brainwashed” by Ruby, and that it wasn’t entirely his fault that he didn’t know about the abuse.
It was during this time that Ruby had gotten noticeably closer with her business partner Jodi Hildebrant, a life coach who was also convicted for the abuse of two of Ruby’s children.
The YouTube channel had been inactive, and Ruby’s oldest children were moved out of the house when her 12-year-old son showed up at a neighbor’s house asking for help. The boy was covered in bruises and frail in the released Ring camera footage.
Once police came they found a “panic room” in the basement of Hildebrandt’s house, and the boy’s sister “emancipated” in the closet of the home. He had not seen his sister in a month and explained how they would do physical labor in the sun, would be tied with ropes, and have cayenne pepper and honey put in their wounds.
Franke and Hildebrandt were arrested for child abuse and pleaded guilty to aggravated child abuse of two children. The oldest Franke child, Shari Franke, had called child protective services months prior as she and multiple other neighbors weren’t able to contact Ruby and suspected something was happening to her younger siblings.
When the information came to court, Shari spoke to lawmakers about the dangers of “parents monetizing their children online.” Shari expressed how no amount of money was worth what she endured throughout her/ childhood and that there is “no such thing” as moral or ethical family vlogging.
The risks for children that are monetized by parents online have caused some states to create laws that financially protect teens and children featured on social media. Illinois was the first to do this, then California, and now Utah has had talks about the law.
Family vlogging is nothing new, and parents profiting off of their children isn’t either. The cruelty of Ruby Franke brought vast amounts of attention to a problem that wasn’t so small. Hopefully, lawmakers and other family vloggers realize the ultimate risks of featuring a child’s life online.
