We posed as a TikTok teen… and suicide posts appeared within minutes

Molly Russell’s family’s five-year wait for answers has finally come to an end when an inquest learned of how the teen saw suicide and self-harm content from the “ghetto of the online world” before her death in November 2017.

The head of health and wellness at Instagram’s parent company Meta and the head of community operations at Pinterest have both apologized for the content Molly viewed on the platforms during the proceedings.

Here, the PA news agency looks at what we learned during the 14-year-old’s investigation.

– Who provided the evidence from the witness stand at the judicial inquiry?

Molly Russell’s father, Ian, provided a pen portrait of his daughter before giving testimony.

The chief of health and wellness at Meta, Elizabeth Lagone, and Pinterest’s chief of community operations, Judson Hoffman, also appeared in person at the inquest.

Other witnesses included child psychiatrist Dr. Navin Venugopal, Molly’s headteacher Sue Maguire and deputy headteacher Rebecca Cozens.

– What did Ian Russell say during his proof?

Ian Russell said the content his daughter was exposed to was “appalling”, adding that Molly had been given access to material from the “ghetto of the online world”.

Mr Russell also said ‘whatever steps have been taken (by social media companies) it is clearly not enough’, adding: ‘I believe social media helped kill my daughter.’

– What did Pinterest’s senior executive tell the survey?

Pinterest’s head of community operations, Judson Hoffman, admitted the platform was “not secure” when Molly Russell used it, adding that he “deeply regrets” posts the teen viewed.

Mr Hoffman said Pinterest is “secure but imperfect” as he admitted that malicious content still “probably exists” on the site.

– What did Meta’s head of health and wellness tell the study?

Elizabeth Lagone, a senior executive at Meta, defended Instagram, saying posts described by the Russell family as “encouraging” suicide or self-harm were safe.

The senior executive told the inquest that she thought it was “safe for people to express themselves” but admitted that some of the posts shown to the court allegedly violated Instagram’s policies.

– What did the child psychiatrist say?

dr. Navin Venugopal said he “couldn’t sleep well” after watching Instagram content viewed by Molly Russell.

The witness told the inquest he saw no “positive benefit” in the material the teen had viewed before she died.

– What did the head teacher of Molly Russell’s school tell the inquest?

Sue Maguire, headteacher at Hatch End High School, said social media causes “no end to problems” as it is “almost impossible to keep up.”

She told the study that social media “creates challenges … that we just didn’t have 10 years ago or 15 years ago.”

– What was said about Molly Russell’s activity on Instagram?

The inquest was told from the 16,300 posts Molly had saved, shared or liked on Instagram in the six months before her death, 2,100 were depression, self-harm or suicide related.

The court played 17 clips the teen viewed on Instagram – prompting those in attendance a “greatest warning” from coroner Andrew Walker.

But in the last six months of her life, she was on Instagram posts an average of 130 times a day.

This included 3,500 shares during that period, as well as 11,000 likes and 5,000 saves.

– What was said about Molly Russell’s activity on Pinterest?

The court was told that Molly had created two “boards” on Pinterest that were of interest to the investigation – one called Stay Strong, which tended to pin “more positive” material on it, while the other, featuring ” much more downbeat, negative content,” was called Nothing to Worry About.

Molly saved 469 pins on the Nothing to Worry About board and 155 pins on the Stay Strong board.

The survey found that Pinterest sent emails to the 14-year-old, such as “10 depression pins you might like” and “new ideas for you in depression.”

– What was said about Molly Russell’s activity on Twitter?

The investigation revealed that Molly reached out to celebrities for help on Twitter, including YouTube star Salice Rose and actress Lili Reinhart.

The court was told that the teen used an anonymous account to send tweets to celebrities.