Victim testimonies
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“Once again, my name is Representative Brandon Guffey, and I'm here not as a legislator, but here as a father who has lost a child due to sextortion. I decided to run for office in 2022 in the state of South Carolina, had a contested primary, won the primary, and within 30 days after winning my primary, I lost my oldest son, Gavin Guffey, to suicide, and he was a victim of sextortion.”
Brandon Guffey – Lost his son to an online sextortion scam, now advocating for justice
Days later, I learned Gavin had been blackmailed online. A predator posing as a college volleyball player tricked him into sharing an intimate image, then demanded money, threatening to expose him. Gavin sent $25 but was told it wasn’t enough. He pleaded for time, but by 1:40 AM, he took his own life.
Even after his death, the extortionist continued tormenting my family, targeting my other son and cousin. They even mocked Gavin’s last moments. With law enforcement's help, we uncovered the predator’s network, yet social media platforms failed to act.
Determined to prevent this from happening to others, I fought to pass Gavin’s Law. Enacted in 2023, it criminalizes sextortion, enforces strict penalties, and mandates education for law enforcement to recognize victims. No child should suffer like Gavin.
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“A year ago, someone hacked into my snapchat account, specifically the my eyes only folder, a place like that I, like so many others, believed to be private. Inside that folder were personal images and videos I had taken while I was underage, moments I had never intended for anyone else to see, but suddenly they were no longer mine.”
Jane Doe – Victim Testimony on Sextortion
‘Whoever stole them did not just keep them. They spread them. My personal information was attached, my name, my social media accounts and even my phone number. Within hours, I started receiving hundreds of messages, strangers demanding for more, harassing me, threatening me and objectifying me as if I was not a person with real feelings..
I can't describe the kind of fear that takes over when you realize that. Pieces of yourself, intimate, private and vulnerable, are no longer yours when you realize that no matter how many times you delete, report or beg for help, they're still out there, and when you realize that the very platforms that allowed this to happen, the ones that claim to prioritize user safety, do nothing to stop it.
When the police got involved, I expected support. I expected them to see me as the victim I was. Instead, they barely spoke to me. They spoke to my father. They apologized to him, as if it was something that I had done to him and to my family, rather than something that had been done to me. They never followed up and they never helped me..’ ..Snapchat claims that my eyes only is protected, but how safe is it if it can be breached so easily? Discord allows harmful content to spread in private servers with little oversight, and while they all claim to take reports seriously, their actions say otherwise, because the truth is, they don't care until they're forced to..’
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“I remember thinking that if this was going to be my reality, I would rather not be alive. But I kept on fighting with the hope that one day I might be able to talk about the hell that I went through and make things a tiny bit better for the little girls dreaming of a bright, sunny future like I once had.”
Hannah Mossman Moore – Stalking survivor
In 2015, when I was 23 years old, I met a man in his late 40s or early 50s. This man became a friend and a mentor. In 2017, I asked this man to stop contacting me, but he continued to do so. A week or so after my final plea, where I clearly emailed him saying, "Stop contacting me," I began to receive a barrage of emails, WhatsApps, and calls from a whole cast of characters. These different characters were contacting me every day, multiple times, through multiple platforms—Gmail, Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook—threatening me, threatening my friends and employers, and creating fake accounts to impersonate me.
This fake me would create WhatsApp groups, add all of my friends and family, and admit to embarrassing or shameful things I was supposedly doing while threatening my friends and family. My stalker, a man called Kin, was also added to the groups and emails, and he would play the hero. He would say, "Stop this at once, or we will report you to the police." I believe this was designed to isolate me, and as you can imagine, after a year—but it actually went on for five years—it was starting to have a really, really bad effect on me and my mental health. It isolated me from my friends and family, and I developed severe anxiety.
My employers started receiving legal threats from the fake me. It went on for so long that they involved lawyers, and I had to take time off work because of the stress the fake me was causing. I was receiving physical parcels on a daily basis, full of strange gifts. I was so scared of living alone that I moved back with my father. Within a matter of days, the parcels started coming to my dad's house. I took this as a message that I was being watched.
I received hundreds of emails weekly from anonymous accounts set up under my name and other fake names. One of them was an escort company set up with me as one of their escorts. For years, I received five or six emails a day referring to me as "Hookah Hani," encouraging others to rape me daily. At the time, I was running an art fair, so they found out my boss's address, and they started receiving parcels but decided not to tell me. My dad was also hiding them from me because it was just very creepy. I handed one to the police for evidence, but they never got back to me on that.
There were also embarrassing pictures of me sent to my then-boyfriend—pictures that had been taken off my Facebook. They were accompanied by misogynistic language, calling me a "slut" and falsely claiming I had been pregnant. It was all degrading and humiliating.
On my birthday, all of my family's phones, including mine, would be disconnected. On Father's Day, my dad's phone would be blocked. My bank account was blocked. My email accounts were deactivated. My Facebook and Instagram accounts were hacked. With all these threats and disruptions, I started to feel like I was a burden on my family and friends.
My stalker followed me wherever I went. He was always finding out where I was and emailing me about my new life and location. He would email new friends and colleagues, send them embarrassing pictures, and spread lies about me. One email subject read: "Warning: Be careful of Hannah Mossman." By this point, my social anxiety was extreme. I had to take anti-anxiety medication, which I have continued to take ever since.
I even stopped using my phone at one point because I was receiving a constant bombardment of calls from unknown numbers. The phone became a source of fear and distress for me. In my mid-20s, when most people were socially connected, I was completely isolated.
I moved to Sri Lanka and started working for a gem company, selling jewellery to hotels. Although I made it work, I had no friends there and remained isolated. These were some of the lowest days of my life. I remember thinking that if this was going to be my reality, I would rather not be alive. But I kept on fighting with the hope that one day I might be able to talk about the hell that I went through and make things a tiny bit better for the little girls dreaming of a bright, sunny future like I once had.
I reported everything to social media platforms—Gmail, WhatsApp, and my phone company—but I never received a response. I reported it to the police multiple times. I had around 10 police cases, but the police kept closing them. They closed them for two reasons: "There's not enough evidence to prove who's behind it, so we're closing the case," and "It is impossible to locate the suspect due to his transient and international lifestyle."
I can't help but imagine if there had been a more stringent verification process for signing up to WhatsApp, Instagram, and Gmail, requiring a form of ID to ensure that the person signing up matches the account they are creating. If this had been the case, they could have very easily proved who was behind all of these multiple profiles that proceeded to ruin my life, and the evidence I needed would be there.
We managed to find out that it was highly likely that this man, Kin, was behind all of the profiles and emails because we worked with forensic linguists in the podcast—experts who work with the FBI on high-profile murder cases—and they identified that all of the language from each email was very similar. It was highly likely that it was all him.
Just as an add-on, Kin denies all allegations of stalking and harassment and denies sending any of the emails.
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“Facebook has not removed the comments and messages directed at me, which include threats of violence and false information. Despite reporting posts to Facebook on several occasions, no action has been taken. The threats on social media have caused extreme fear for myself and my family.”
Tun Khin – Victim testimony on Genocide committed against the Rohingya population
Good morning, honorable judges and distinguished prosecutors. My name is Tun Khin, a Rohingya genocide survivor from Arakan State, Burma. I left my country at 17, but was denied citizenship due to the 1982 Citizenship Law. The military imposed severe restrictions on movement, marriage, and education, leading to widespread persecution of the Rohingya community.
My family’s land was confiscated by the military, and non-Rohingya people, often ex-criminals, were brought to our land. When we reported these issues, it was us, the Rohingya, who were persecuted. This institutionalized persecution intensified with hate speech, mass killings in 2016 and 2017, and the burning of our homes, leading to forced displacement.
Since then, I’ve faced numerous threats and false accusations, especially on social media platforms like Facebook, where I’ve been targeted by influential figures and military supporters. I’ve received messages threatening violence and even death because of my ethnicity and activism. Despite reporting these posts, no action has been taken by the platforms, which exacerbates the harm to my family and me.
In 2017, I met genocide survivors who shared horrific stories of violence, including mass killings, sexual violence, and the burning of villages. The military’s social media posts glorifying these atrocities continue to spread hatred and incite further violence. This is a direct result of the military’s deep-rooted racism, amplified by platforms like Facebook, which allowed the promotion of harmful content.
As a survivor and activist, I continue to demand justice for the Rohingya. Despite ongoing threats and pressure, I will never stop fighting for accountability for the atrocities we have faced
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“I speak today not just for myself, but for over a million Rohingya who have suffered in silence, whose voices have been drowned out by hatred and misinformation.”
Nay San Lwin - Victim testimony on Genocide committed against the Rohingya population
In 2012, violence erupted again, and Facebook became the primary platform for spreading misinformation and hate. The Myanmar government used Facebook to propagate the false narrative that we were illegal immigrants, which dehumanized us and fueled hatred. Facebook failed to regulate harmful content, allowing hate speech and misinformation to spread freely, while my efforts to share the truth were repeatedly censored.
During the 2017 crisis, over 750,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh, and the violence reached its peak. Facebook users, including government supporters, cheered the violence, while my posts documenting the atrocities were removed. Despite receiving death threats, Facebook did nothing to stop the hate speech, which contributed to the genocide.
The platform’s inaction, allowing harmful content and genocidal rhetoric to flourish, played a significant role in the violence against the Rohingya. Facebook must be held accountable for its role in enabling this dehumanization.
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“I stand before you today, not just as a journalist, but as a survivor of digital violence, where hatred online has spilled over into real-world suffering—threatening my life and silencing my voice.”
Alexandra Pascalidou Journalist – Victim testimony on Hate Speech
"My name is Alexandra Pascalidou. I came to Sweden at six and was nine when an anonymous threat arrived: 'Your black-haired pig, if you do not leave the country within 24 hours, we will kill you and your family.' The police said there was nothing they could do. From then on, I lived with the knowledge that nameless hatred could kill us simply because we were different.
As a journalist, I've faced both appreciation and adversity, but the worst was the threats and hate: 'Your dirty migrant whore, your bloody Gypsy, your ugly liar.' These are weapons, used to silence me. They threatened me with violence, cyberbullying, and deepfake attacks. The authorities told me to stay quiet and change my routine. They only acted when Nazis gathered outside my home, yet still, they said, 'We can’t protect you.'
As a freelance journalist, I've lost jobs and faced smear campaigns. A simple column about taking a sabbatical led to a wave of hate. This silencing extends to those in power, like Trump, Putin, and Netanyahu, who normalize hate. Even politicians harass me—one called me 'black-haired trash' on Twitter. Gaslighting has become a weapon.
Last month, a Swedish man murdered 10 people, but the media ignored his ties to far-right groups. These men are radicalized by online hate. We must not stay silent. Social media platforms must be held accountable, and governments must enforce consequences. Hate speech is a weapon that must be disarmed.
We must support those on the front lines, fight against hate, and never retreat. If they tell us to shut up, we must speak louder. We will not surrender. We will write, speak, and fight, because we must."
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“I never imagined that speaking the truth could make me a target, but the online hate I face every day has become a constant reminder of the price I pay for simply reporting on immigration.”
Amanda Lima, Journalist – Victim testimony on Hate Speech
Amanda Lima – Facing Online Hate for Reporting the Truth
"My name is Amanda Lima, a Brazilian journalist, and I began writing for one of Portugal’s largest newspapers about immigration. While I had a strong presence in Portugal as a CNN political commentator, the backlash started when I covered immigration.
Twitter became hostile, with messages like 'Go back home' escalating to threats. One of my photos was turned into a viral image of my face as a pig. Despite suspensions, the attacker created new accounts. Hate continued, even in videos of me being mocked.
I’ve been called a 'foreign agent' and a prostitute. My journalism has been labeled incendiary for simply reporting on public service issues. Social media platforms, especially Telegram, amplify these threats. A neo-Nazi group posted my personal details to thousands.
I no longer walk alone at night. The police can’t track the anonymous accounts, and no one has been charged yet. My self-esteem as a woman has been shattered. I’ve gained weight, have more wrinkles, and feel ugly. But despite these visible scars, I continue my work as a journalist. The emotional toll is heavy, but I keep going."
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“My daughter Megan was a victim of the cruelty that social media fosters. Words are not just words—they are weapons. And these weapons took my daughter from me.”
Nicola Harteveld - Victim Testimony about daughter's suicide
I never imagined I would be speaking these words, fighting a battle I never signed up for. My name is Nicola Harteveld, and I am here because I lost my daughter, Megan. She was just 14 years old when she died by suicide in 2017, and social media played a part in her death. I'm not an expert or a politician, I'm a mother who now speaks for the child I can no longer hold, fighting so no other parent has to stand where I am today.
Megan was my best friend, my funny, cheeky, brilliant girl. She loved to draw, loved to make people laugh, and like many young people, turned to social media for connection. But she found a world where darkness spread faster than kindness, where cruel words cut deeper than any knife. She was fed a constant stream of harmful content, glorifying self-harm, and she became trapped in it. The platforms pull you in and whisper, "This is who you are, and this is what you deserve."
Megan never told me how much she was struggling. She smiled through her pain. She was here one minute, and then she wasn’t. The messages I found after her death will haunt me. Strangers telling her she wasn’t good enough, encouraging her pain, and an algorithm pushing her deeper into despair. I’ll never forgive myself for not knowing because I thought she was safe in her bedroom.
Megan was the kindest, most vivacious, beautiful young girl. Yet, the tools that should have connected her with love were twisted into weapons. Megan faced relentless hatred online. One of the most harrowing moments came when Megan discovered a Facebook group called "I Hate Megan Evans." She asked, "Why do they hate me, Mum? What did I do?" That’s a question no mother should ever hear.
Megan stood up for others being bullied online, but she hid her own torment. The platform invited a crowd of cowards to attack a vulnerable girl because it could. Watching my daughter torn apart by faceless cruelty was indescribable. It was like having my heart ripped out. But this fight has turned into a mission for change.
Megan's story is a glaring example of the need for reform. We downplay the impact of online bullying, calling it "banter," but those words weren’t just insults. They were weapons, and they hit their target. When it came to investigating her death, those who should have acted dismissed the role of social media. Let me be clear—words kill. And when amplified by algorithms, the damage is irreversible.
We cannot continue to allow cruelty to hide behind screens. We cannot let those in power ignore the real consequences of online abuse. We need laws, stronger platform accountability, stricter content regulation, and mental health safeguards. Megan deserved a chance, and that chance was taken from her.
I believe if social media had been safer, Megan might still be here today. If those in power took cyberbullying seriously, more young people would reach out for help. This is about human lives. This is about changing the world for children who feel alone, not good enough, and have no way out. We must do better. We must do it now.