This article references disordered eating, self-harm, and transphobia.
In 2023, Brianna Ghey was stabbed to death by two fellow pupils. Her mother, Esther Ghey, is telling her story of campaigning for change in an honest and moving ITV documentary, Brianna: A Mother’s Story.
After her daughter, Brianna, was lured to a park and murdered in 2023 by two teenagers from her hometown in Warrington, Esther became an online safety campaigner almost overnight. Meeting politicians, speaking on national news and battling for justice in court, Esther Ghey’s story became one familiar to all across the country. Now, her documentary Brianna: A Mother’s Story reveals how channeling her grief into campaigning for safer social media has helped her “fill the hole in her heart”.
“I had no idea about the extent of online harm until Brianna’s passing. Over the two years since her death, I’ve learnt so much about the horrors of the online world.” Research in 2024 found that social media platforms amplify anti-feminist and other extremist content to accounts registered as 16- to 18-year-old boys within just 23 minutes.
It wasn’t just Brianna's killers who were exposed to graphic and dangerous content online. Like many teenage girls, Brianna found herself falling down a rabbit hole of consuming negative content that promoted eating disorders and self-harm. “It was only after Brianna’s death that I found out she had been accessing harmful content online, which had encouraged her to restrict her eating and cut herself,” says Esther.
With young people being exposed to harmful and graphic online content more than ever before, this is having a direct knock-on effect in communities across the UK. Exclusive research from the documentary revealed that violent crime in schools has surged to nearly 100,000 reported incidents in just three years, with police reports up by almost 25%.
“Every teacher, along with so many parents of teenagers, has stories like mine and Brianna’s. I can’t help thinking that this shouldn’t be the norm – we need to do something to change this.”
The documentary also hears from Arturo Bejar, former senior engineering and product leader at Facebook, members of Cheshire Police responsible for investigating Brianna’s murder, and Brianna’s school friends. It paints a detailed picture of a journey of harm, one that Brianna and her killers were taken on by addictive algorithms and careless corporations, one without safeguards, which led to a preventable tragedy.
Meta disagrees with Bejar’s comments. They say they have clear rules against, and proactively identify and remove, harmful content, and point out that they have already implemented a number of additional safeguarding features including Teen Accounts on Instagram.
Since losing her Brianna, Esther has spent a lot of time reflecting on how vital preventative action is, and what schools and MPs could do to address the growing issue of online radicalisation of young people. “The government needs to take a much firmer stance against social media companies. We have so many campaigners in the UK who have been working extremely hard to ensure that social media is safe for children, but each time they seem to be getting somewhere, the regulation is watered down.”
Earlier this month, the Safer Phones Bill, which had aimed to ban addictive social media algorithms and prevent under-16s from using social media, was watered down after opposition from technology secretary Peter Kyle and education secretary Bridget Phillipson. Instead, the government said more time is needed for research on the impacts of social media on young people.
Grieving parents like Esther, who is a member of the grassroots campaign Bereaved Families for Online Safety, know that the human cost of harmful content online is far too high. “After all I’ve seen and learnt about social media, I truly think that a social media ban for under 16s is the answer. I would say, do not give your primary school-aged child a phone. For those with teenagers, hold out on allowing them to have social media as long as possible. If they have social media already, try to have open conversations about what they see online.”
The Netflix series Adolescence, which reached 24.3 million views in just four days, has also contributed to the growing conversation around online radicalisation and the issue of violence against women and girls. Its creators have even been invited to discuss the issue of online misogyny and incel ideology with MPs in parliament. Creator of the hit Netflix series, Jack Thorne, echoes Esther Ghey in her support of a smartphone ban for under-16s.
Losing her daughter led Esther to start Peace & Mind UK, an organisation that aims to improve the mental health of young people and families, through teaching them wellbeing and mindfulness practices, to help them feel less anxiety, increased empathy and mental resilience. In the documentary, we follow Esther on her visit to Wings Academy in New York, where teaching mindfulness practices to its pupils has helped to improve student behaviour and reduce violence.
Not only has Esther seen the benefits in schools, but in her own life, too. “I have practiced mindfulness for over 11 years now, and I can honestly say that the impact has been life-changing. I also believe that mindfulness helped me to get through the most difficult time in my life,” says Esther.
Despite her hopes for what community initiatives like her own can do and her dedication to making a positive impact in Brianna’s name, Esther doesn’t hold much faith in the companies that could end the spread of toxic content and violent material online. “There are so many people who want to help to make the online world a safer place and real-life experience will enable social media companies to make a positive change. But I’m at a point now where I highly doubt that social media companies will ever put lives before profit.”
Not a single social media company accepted a meeting with Esther during the making of Brianna: A Mother’s Story, and none of them offered a comment on the documentary’s findings.
Brianna: A Mother’s Story airs Thursday, 27th March at 9pm on ITV1. Stream the extended version on ITVX.
Where is the compassion for our community?
