Instagram under fire over gory images of murdered teen Bianca Devins
- The horrific killing of the teenager Bianca Devins has drawn headlines, its brutality underscored by its broadcast
- It has echoes of the massacre at two mosques in New Zealand this year, which the perpetrator live-streamed on Facebook
Social media companies have come under fire after images of a murdered teenage girl’s body were posted online and were widely shared on Instagram as well as other sites including Discord and 4chan.
Bianca Devins, a 17-year-old girl from Utica in New York, was brutally murdered on Sunday. Police allege she was killed by Brandon Clark, 21, after the pair, who met on Instagram, attended a concert together.
Discord and 4chan users phoned police after images of Devin’s body and Clark’s own injuries appeared on those sites.
Police subsequently confirmed that the images were authentic, and that they were engaging with the social media platforms to find out how those images were able to be shared.
Once police found Clark, he allegedly laid himself over a green tarp covering Devin’s body and took a selfie laying over the top of Devin’s body.
According to BuzzFeed News, a photo of Devin’s bloodied body was posted to Clark’s Instagram with the caption “I’m sorry, Bianca”.