On Aug. 30, 2023, Ruby Franke, a long-time parenting lifestyle YouTuber and mother of six, was arrested on six counts of child abuse. This case has encouraged Moorpark College students majoring in child development to use their knowledge to educate the public on the potential dangers of family vlogging.
Franke created her YouTube channel, “8 Passengers,” a reference to her family of eight, in 2015, hoping to give parenting advice to her audience.
Franke would film her interactions with her husband, Kevin Franke, and her six children: Shari, Chad, Abby, Julie, Russel and Eve.
As the “8 Passengers” YouTube channel grew to over 2 million subscribers, so did the controversy surrounding it, mainly regarding Franke’s parenting style.
In one now-deleted YouTube video, Franke received a call from her youngest daughter’s elementary school explaining that the child had nothing to eat and requested that Franke bring the child lunch.
“…the natural outcome is she is just going to have to go hungry,” Franke said in the video. “My hope is she will be hungry and be like, ‘That was really painful being hungry all day, I’ll make sure to always have a lunch with me.'”
Another video that concerned viewers highlighted a conversation about punishments between Franke and her oldest son, Chad, where he confessed to being denied his bedroom space.
“My bedroom was taken away for seven months. I was sleeping on a beanbag,” Chad said according to Business Insider.
This content became more prominent on the “8 Passengers” YouTube channel starting in 2020, so much so that viewers petitioned to send Child Protective Services to the Franke’s home. The case was closed after questioning the six children due to insufficient evidence.
Business Insider interviewed Franke regarding the Child Protective Services incident and her content.
“[The audience] knew what they were doing was out of context,” said Franke, unaware of why her audience was so concerned. “They were purely seeking to throw hate. A reasonable person would not have seen that video and thought, ‘She is a child abuser.'”
Following the incident, Franke began featuring her family less in her videos.
Nolan Amos, a child development student at Moorpark College, advocates for children’s privacy on social media.
“I do not believe that people should be posting their children on the internet,” Amos explains. “Evidence from the last ten years shows us just how detrimental social media can be to children’s cognitive, social and emotional development.”
The situation furthered when Franke partnered with therapist Jodi Hildebrandt in June of 2022 to produce life-improvement content through their brand ConneXions. The now-removed website described Franke as a “certified mental fitness trainer,” though there was no evidence of certification to support this title.
Before ConneXions, Hildebrandt was a counselor claiming to help Mormon families and couples. According to NBC News, former patients of Hildebrandt have confessed that conditions regarding Hildebrandt’s business were in many cases negative.
“…methodically separated spouses, pathologized patients’ behaviors as evidence of various addictions, and encouraged people to cut off others who weren’t living in accordance with her teachings,” NBC News stated.
Viewers quickly labeled ConneXions’ videos as “cult-like” due to the strange and offensive teachings on the channel. Franke and Hildebrandt openly made racist, homophobic, transphobic and ableist comments within their videos. The pair explained that a parent’s love for their child should not be unconditional, and children do not deserve privacy.
On Aug. 30, 2023, police rushed to a home in Ivins, Utah, after they received a call about a young boy who appeared on a resident’s doorstep, who was malnourished and had duct tape around his arms and legs.
This young boy turned out to be Franke’s youngest son, Russel. Police say Russel escaped by climbing out of a window and running to get help. After searching through the house, police discovered Eve, Franke’s youngest girl, tied up and in poor condition as well. Authorities confirmed that the home was Jodi Hildebrandt’s.
The two children were given food and water and sent to a nearby hospital. Franke’s other four children were taken into custody by the Utah Department of Child and Family Services at the Franke’s residence. Police arrested Hildebrandt and Franke in their homes on Aug. 30, 2023.
Ruby’s oldest daughter, Shari, who had gone no contact with her mother, posted a picture of the police cars in front of the Franke household on Instagram with the caption, “Finally.” She posted a second time later that day, writing, “Me and my family are so glad justice is being served. We’ve been trying to tell the police and CPS for years about this, and so glad they finally decided to step up.”
KUTV sat down with Hildebrandt’s niece, Jessi Hildebrandt, who spoke out about the abuse they faced while living with Jodi Hildebrandt.
“I experienced being tied, I experienced being duct taped, I experienced being blindfolded, I experienced severe isolation, I experienced severe emotional, spiritual and psychological abuse,” said Jessi. “…I was forced to sleep outside in the snow… If someone spoke to me directly, if I wasn’t wearing duct tape on my mouth I had to just stare at them and not respond.”
Hildebrandt and Franke were officially charged with six counts of child abuse a week after their arrests. YouTube removed the “8 Passengers” and the “ConneXions” channels from their platform shortly after this.
A few months later, on Dec. 15, 2023, Franke’s attorneys from Winward Law released a statement on her behalf. The statement’s wording painted Ruby as an innocent, devoted mother taken advantage of by Hildebrandt.
On Feb. 20, 2024, Hildebrandt and Franke received four consecutive prison sentences, each lasting 1 to 15 years.
“I can see now over the past four years, I was in a deep undercurrent that led us to danger,” said Franke, referring to her children while sobbing in the courtroom. “I would never have led you to darkness knowingly. I was so disoriented that I believed dark was light and right was wrong. I would do anything in this world for you.”
Authorities found Franke’s diary in March 2024. Her entries are dated July 9 to Aug. 27, 2023, just days before her arrest. Franke’s writing admits to countless acts that she did to her children. Some of these include shaving her children’s heads, starving them, and frequently explaining that her children are satanic and manipulative.
Along with the diaries, bodycam footage was released, showing the rescue of the two children trapped in Hildebrandt’s home. The youngest daughter is seen sitting on the floor in the closet, motionless, malnourished and afraid.
In light of these recent events, Moorpark College journalism professor Jennifer Castle educates her students on the debate of the Communications Decency Act of Section 230.
“The laws and regulations for new media, social media, digital media are extremely murky,” Castle explains. “The specific act that needs to be addressed in this case is Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Section 230 was put on the books in 1996. It was originally created to protect social platforms, and the companies or individuals that used them, from any liability that could arise regarding anything posted within their feeds. It’s old and no longer in alignment with where the tech has gone nor the damage it’s caused.”
Castle continues on to argue that YouTube is guilty of hiding behind Section 230, and that they justified their minimal protections for the app as ‘freedom of speech.’ She explains that they turned a blind eye to much of it in order to maintain an encompassing freedom of expression for their users.
Some of the most popular YouTubers producing family vlogs make up to $5 million dollars per year. The more views a video receives, the more revenue the family gets. This incentive causes families to go to great lengths to attract their audience to their content, no matter the cost.
“Children do not have any say over the content posted online,” continued Amos. “This lack of privacy can expose children to individuals who may objectify, bully, or even stalk them. I think it is incredibly wrong to put your children at risk just for followers and money, and in my opinion, this is taking advantage of your children and putting them at risk.”
Unfortunately, this case is not the first time children have been exploited or abused on social media platforms. Social media an ever-changing landscape, and many consumers raise concerns about laws and regulations following suit.
“I believe the topic of Section 230 is going to keep coming up, we haven’t seen the last of it,” said Castle. “I believe reform is on its way, but we have to keep talking about it, keep the topic relevant and take action wherever we can.”
Ruby Franke was sentenced to up to 30 years in prison, which remains to be seen by the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole according to CBS News. The official sentencing in this case is ongoing.
