A lewd gossip blog shaming Vancouver teenagers has been traced back to a student at a prestigious all-girls private school on the west side.
Crofton House head Pat Dawson told CTV News a Grade 8 student is involved with the Vancouver Taddler Tumblr site, which exposed embarrassing photos and text messages of a sexual nature.
“I have just had confirmation that she was involved and that her parents are aware,” she said.
Dawson wouldn’t comment on any potential punishment but said Crofton House will be responding once all the facts come to light.
“The school will definitely take measures. We’re still learning [the details] but this is something the school takes very seriously.”
Vancouver Taddler started about four days ago, according to teens featured on the site. The anonymous author advertised for people to e-mail in “all the scandalous secrets for the highest revenge.”
She claimed to be following the example set on popular TV show Gossip Girl, where an anonymous blogger chronicles privileged teens.
One of the victims, a student at Point Grey Secondary School, said she was shocked to see lies posted about her on the site.
“It’s kind of scary,” she said. “I think it was supposed to be as a joke, supposed to be funny, but it got out of hand.”
Another student whose photo was published on the blog decided to call Crime Stoppers.
“She captioned it as if I was on drugs. I wasn’t. I don’t. I thought it was hurtful.” As for the Gossip Girl comparison, he said, “That’s a fake TV show. This is real life. People are actually getting hurt from this.”
Vancouver police Sgt. Randy Fincham confirmed the department is investigating, and warned teenagers about the dangers of spreading private images online.
“We’re always concerned about a site that would put the safety of children at risk,” Fincham said. “In extreme cases, if somebody is posting graphic images of kids without their clothes on it could be construed as being child pornography.”
Cyber bullying can also have potentially fatal consequences, as seen in the infamous online harassment of teenager Amanda Todd that drove her to take her own life in 2012.
The Vancouver Taddler site has been taken down, but that doens't mean it's going away.
“I know that a lot of people have screenshotted it,” said one person featured in the site. “It’s still around. Once it’s on the internet, it’s always going to be there.”
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Jon Woodward
