Online ‘Pedophile Hunters’ Are Growing More Violent — and Going Viral: With the rise of loosely moderated social media platforms, a fringe vigilante movement is experiencing a dangerous evolution.

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• allo@sh.itjust.works ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  As a main communitymember on a site with chats used by a huge amount of kids, I have seen how the internet makes it very easy, compared to oldentimes, for pedos to be in areas high in children. One of the kids there often complains about pedos and asked me to help remove them. So, with kids being a defenseless flock of animals, there ARE kids who then take a Defender role and they become the ouster of pedos. Also noteworthy is, right before I emailed an official pedocatching organization, the kid I was helping got in a confrontation and spilled the antipedo plans; which alerted the pedos and spoiled the plan. So the issue with kids doing high stakes things is they are mentally still children.

  overall, pedos in kid areas, thanks to the internet, feels, to me, also on the rise. And those areas SHOULD have the pedos removed in an organized acceptable fashion; and that that doesn’t happen causes some Defender kids to think they need to do it themselves.

  imo get better real official pedo prevention measures up in kid spaces to reduce vigilantiism.

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  • Ledericas@lemm.ee ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Reddit has/had a problem in some of the medical subs a while back, I was reading a post where the minors were being contacted PM by them. Since alot of them are skin diseases, they were ask more to reveal more about their bodies. I’m guessing reddit never caught on immediately, because it was private messaging

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• rekabis@lemmy.ca ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  I don’t have a problem with actual pedophiles that are caught in these dragnets.

  My problem arises from the lack of rigorous and well-documented investigation into the target before shite starts popping off. As the article pointed out, there is nothing wrong with a 22yo dating an 18yo. And the problem here is a sense of vindictiveness trying to manufacture targets where not all targets are guilty of pedophilia.

  So: you want to take a pipe wrench to warm over a pedophile? Make sure there is oodles of evidence that clearly and unambiguously makes the person a pedophile, and sure as shite I will look the other way. But the problem is that there is no self-reinforcing framework in place within the vigilante system to ensure and enforce this threshold of evidence. And without this system, innocent people are going to get hurt or killed.

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  • interdimensionalmeme@lemmy.ml ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    You and the people upvoting you are gravely mistaken.

    This isn’t about protecting the innocent.

    It is about inflicting unaccountable violence.

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• TylerBourbon@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Republicans and Church leaders everywhere are terrified.

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• blazeknave@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Not advocating for all this, but if they really cared, couldn’t they just run down the registered sex offender list and start with the multiple convictions?

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  • ArchRecord@lemm.ee ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    couldn’t they just run down the registered sex offender list

    The point of their channels is usually to find new predators that haven’t been caught, so they can then face legal consequences, (or at least be pushed to stop acting on their desires) rather than to punish people for being pedophiles in general, so it wouldn’t really make sense to go after those who were already convicted.

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    • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      [deleted]

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• BigMacHole@lemm.ee ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  In UNRELATED NEWS in Free Republican States Trans and Gay people are Legally PEDOPHILES!

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  • Wolverdiddlyino@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    What are ‘Free Republican States’ ?

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    • nomy@lemmy.zip ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      States FREE from LIBTARDS obviously.

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  • ripcord@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    You can tell they are Free because of all the people they are hurting.

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• cley_faye@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Great. Just dump anyone you dislike as a “pedophile” and then it’s a free for all.

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  • devfuuu@lemmy.world [bot] ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    When AI can create any image or video based on another person with their perfect face and voice, besides the scams that will keep increasing, the other great value of the tech is that we going to be able to create any proof and footage we want to incriminate whoever we wish.

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  • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Hmm, I seem to recall Trump being a pedophile.

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    • sundrei@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Image

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    • lagoon8622@sh.itjust.works ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      They don’t actually care about pedophiles; a lot is them are pedophiles

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  • Phoenicianpirate@lemm.ee ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    They are already doing that shit.

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  • cupcakezealot@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    especially when you have people like elon musk calling people they don’t like paedophiles and winning defamation suits over it by claiming he calls everyone paedophiles.

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• Snowpix@lemmy.ca ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Didn’t an entire TV show get into some serious hot water for doing this sort of thing which resulted in someone committing suicide while filming an episode? These people are potentially putting themselves in serious danger if they corner a pedo who feels like they have nowhere to run or anything left to lose.

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  • Krono@lemmy.today ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    corner a pedo

    And since these are internet vigilante kids with no oversight, they will inevitably corner some non-pedos too.

    Put yourself in that situation- a couple teenagers with cameras approach you on the street and start accusing you of some of the sickest crimes imaginable. Even though the accusation is false, this has the potential to ruin your career, your relationships, your entire life.

    I’m not sure how anyone would respond, or should respond, but I can definitely see how people might resort to violence when falsely accused of this horrible shit on camera.

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    • Landless2029@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      The huge issue with these vigilantes is accusing someone of pedophilia, like rape, can have damning consequences on someones life. Beyond losing their job they could take their own life.

      To catch a predator was a good series because it was a sting. They had adults pose as teens and bait pedos to a house.

      You wouldn’t go to that damn house with the home alone teen unless you wanted to commit statutory rape.

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    • Microw@lemm.ee ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Just happened here in Austria. Police took 20 people into custody (13 have since been formally arrested) for luring people to fake dates where they beat them up.

      The suspects said they hunted pedophiles, but at least in some of the cases they targeted young adults who expected to come to a date with 16-18 year olds.

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    • Snowpix@lemmy.ca ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Exactly. Vigilante justice is not the solution here, it’s only going to get a lot of people hurt.

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  • cupcakezealot@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Catch_a_Predator#Suicide…

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    • Snowpix@lemmy.ca ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      That’s what I was thinking of. Thanks!

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  • conditional_soup@lemm.ee ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    If they corner anyone, tbh. This is a pretty ruinous accusation.

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    • KneeTitts@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      If they corner anyone, tbh. This is a pretty ruinous accusation

      nah in the US they make you president for it

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• ICastFist@programming.dev ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Oh hey, it’s “won’t somebody please think of the children?” taken to the streets for internet clout! Absolutely nothing wrong can happen there! /s

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• Killer57@lemmy.ca ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  I wish I hadn’t gone down this rabbit hole, but according to study data, 1 in 6 people want to touch kids. theconversation.com/a-survey-found-1-in-6-men-adm…

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  • elbarto777@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Don’t worry. That article was awful and the reporter is ignorant of how statistics work.

    First of all, it’s not all men. It’s “all Australian men.” And second of all, it’s not 1 in 6. It’s probably more like 1 in 20. Still a high number, but not as high as the reporter make it out to be.

    The reporter ignored that the data can overlap.

    Sort of like saying:

    Pete would never let anyone slap him. Joe says he is willing to be slapped for $1000. He would also do it for $500. He would also do it for $200. AHA!!! THREE men out of four would be willing to be slapped for $1000 or less!!!

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• MITM0@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Reminder, those “Pedophile Hunters” don’t really give a damn about children.

  They’re sadists who are out to hurt men (Gay men are their preferred targets)

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• SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  They see them everywhere except in their own home

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• Mora@pawb.social ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  In Austria the ‘pedophile hunters’ targeted gay men who were not pedophiles. If ‘paedophile hunters’ would actually care about their care, they would storm the next church…

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  • HawlSera@lemm.ee ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    The Church actually has a lower rate of child abuse than public schools…

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  • Ushmel@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    This is obviously where this is going and it’s a big part why they’re obsessed with labeling people “groomers.”

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• cupcakezealot@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  paedophiles are horrible people but dateline culture was the worst thing to happen to pop culture lexicon

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• Confused_Emus@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  I’d make a guess they’re getting violent because the legal system can’t do anything with their compromised evidence. Instead of realizing they’re not the people qualified to do this work, they’re just doubling down and “handing it themselves.”

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  • cley_faye@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    I don’t know how it works in the US, and it’s certainly not perfect, but if you bring “compromised” evidences of actual child abuse, you can be sure it’ll trigger some extensive investigation. Sometimes, this leads to nothing. Sometimes, the “evidences” were not really evidence, but more of a hunch. Sometimes, it leads to actual consequences.

    One issue with such a vigilante system is that sometimes, you’re wrong. That’s why due process is a thing. But the “this evidence was collected illegally, so we won’t even look up the guy” thing isn’t really a thing, as long as the evidence is better than “I’m sure of it”.

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  • Zetta@mander.xyz ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    They’re getting more violent because they’re getting more views when they get violent.

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  • kandoh@reddthat.com ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    They’re experiencing positive re-enforcement when they get violent with the people they’ve intrapped. They’re getting more violent because they want more of the positive online feedback they’ve been getting.

    There is no lofty thought process about justice.

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    • Geodad@lemm.ee ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Same thing with the 1A auditors, aka “frauditors”.

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  • Doom@ttrpg.network ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Well honestly it seems they may be the most qualified to do this work at this point then

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• Naich@lemmings.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Have they tried looking in churches and the Republican party?

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  • Donjuanme@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    That would get them regulated, they’re only going after the “correct” “bad people”

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• afronaut@slrpnk.net ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  I’m going to be honest, I’m suspicious of every single ‘pedophile hunter’. They are going after a demographic that people will not rush to defend, even if innocent.

  Also, these ‘hunters’ probably have something shady going in their own lives, and this is some form of projection that they also profit off of.

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  • SulaymanF@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    This type of people exist in every generation, whether forming a mob to enforce segregation or engaging in pogroms.

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  • HulkSmashBurgers@reddthat.com ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    I’m going to be honest, I’m suspicious of every single ‘pedophile hunter’. They are going after a demographic that people will not rush to defend, even if innocent.

    Exactly. They’re violent & hateful peple who found a way to justify it.

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  • KneeTitts@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    I’m going to be honest, I’m suspicious of every single ‘pedophile hunter’

    I find it suspicious that they dont just go for the low hanging priest fruit in the catholic church… this does seem to be a largely religious group of people who conveniently ignore this behavior from their own kind.

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    • afronaut@slrpnk.net ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      The problem is, they are going for low hanging fruit by targeting unknowns with little to no representation.

      Catholic priests have the full force of the Catholic Church to protect them from legal attacks that some dinky YouTuber will not be able to combat.

      Also, Catholic priests do not need to go on dating apps or websites where they could potentially get lured because they are most likely targeting the children in their parish, under their direct control.

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  • Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    There may be some angry former victims.

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  • scarabic@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    I see it as people wanting to commit righteous violence. People have violent impulses, but we usually control them. Some people with extraordinary violent tendencies go looking for a place where it’s “okay” to let them loose. This is not the only example.

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  • demunted@lemmy.ml ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Normal healthy people don’t plan to commit violent offenses on other people, unless there is a direct connection to the 3rd parties actions. Hunting people they have no connection to for fame and fortune is sickening.

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    • sleen@lemmy.zip ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      There is an excessive usage of the word ‘hunting’. What all those people are doing is admitting that they consider people as animals, or an “acceptable” way of harassment. And just like people who where in the kkk they don’t care who that person is, but that they’re the most vulnerable minority.

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  • Grizzlyboy@lemm.ee ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    In Norway last year we had a case where 5 16-19 yo set up a sextrap for a guy in his 40s.

    The teens claimed he’s a pedo, beat him, filmed it and posted it online.

    All of the “pedohunters” involved were found guilty on all accounts. The guy is free and getting a big pay out from the teens.

    It’s really unfortunate, but these kinds of people aren’t in it to prevent child abuse. They’re in it for themselves.

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    • KneeTitts@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      but these kinds of people aren’t in it to prevent child abuse. They’re in it for themselves

      you just described all republican politicians

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    • afronaut@slrpnk.net ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      There was a similar case that happened on a college campus in America. Five 18 year -old students, all of whom can legally consent, lured a guy toward the dorms through a dating app. When he arrived, the students swarmed him with phones out calling him a pedophile. They are now being charged.

      kktv.com/…/5-college-students-charged-case-stemmi…

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  • ameancow@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Also, the almost universal knee-jerk response that we have as a society broadly to child predation makes a helluva mask for trampling on the rights of others and making a scapegoat that will be condemned in the public court long before any charges are brought up.

    I’m sure there are plenty of actual predators who are worried about being hit with a sting, but I have seen more than a handful clips of these rogue pedo-hunters going after like, 21-year-old boys and their 17-year-old girlfriends, and people who looked genuinely confused and seemed railroaded into meeting someone.

    I know this message will never stick with the wildly reactionary and emotional viewership who needs to hear it, but we make vigilantism illegal for a damn good reason, and just because Dateline managed to stay above the waterline for the most part, that doesn’t mean some operation of randos you know nothing about on youtube have both the best intentions and the legal acumen to actually make a difference. They may well be making the problem worse by setting up situations where stings against child predators could become outlawed.

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  • ameancow@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    100%.

    There is an old trope about arsonists, they either become criminals or they become firefighters.

    At least with firefighters, we don’t have to worry about if the firefighter is going to get the fire in a room alone later.

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    • afronaut@slrpnk.net ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      There are cases of arsonist fire fighters which is an even stronger analogy.

      Those who claim to fight fires are often the ones setting them, so they can be seen as the heroes who extinguish them.

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• DuskyRo@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Image

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• rottingleaf@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  While pedophile hunters seem barbaric to me, I don’t have kids.

  I do have a dog, and dog hunter hunters, as in “people hunting dog hunters”, seem all right for me.

  Cowards really like to inflict pain on creatures not well enough protected by the law. So hunting them is maybe good for the society.

  So deontology and principles and morals only matter when they are challenged by one’s own impulses. Innocent until proven guilty in the court of law.

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• infeeeee@lemm.ee ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  This is a symptom. If police won’t do it’s job there will be some guys who will take it into their own hands. The problem is they have even less oversight than police.

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• Ceedoestrees@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Is this an angelfire website in the 90’s? Who the hell though a background amalgamation of moving images was the best way to present printed media?

  I just can’t with these websites anymore. I find it almost impossible to read when there’s a embedded video as it is.

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• cronenthal@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Vigilantes taking the law into their own hands with violence is always a sign of a healthy society. It also never leads to tragedy.

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• whodrankarnoldpalmer@startrek.website ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Let’s be real- we know who they’re catching. I’m fine with this. Keep on doing whatever to MAGA trash.

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• ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Only one thing to do: set two pedophile hunters up on a date.

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• Alphane_Moon@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Bread and circuses

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