Cyberbullying is a new concept born with the rise of social media. Matthew Hardy spent more than ten years bullying mainly young women through Facebook and Instagram. First, by sending fake and disturbing information… saying that he knew that the woman’s boyfriend was unfaithful or that her father was not her genetic father. And then slowly creating fake accounts in the name of these women and sending weird messages to their friends. He destroyed the lives of several women and was arrested nearly ten times before a policeman took this issue seriously, built the case and was able to bring Matthew Hardy to court. Beginning of 2022, he was sentenced to nine years in jail, but the harm he has done will last longer than that. A frightening podcast on the extent of psychological damage and the potential dangers of social media platforms.
“Abby has no idea what Jody is talking about, and she’s freaking out, so she calls Zara straight away, and she was just like “Oh my God, just chill, it’s so fine. This happens to me a lot. It’s just people, they want to be like with us. They’ve obviously seen photos on Instagram, seen that you were with us and thought you were like an easy target. Just ignore it”. Both Jody and Zara are used to getting messages from fake profiles. They say it’s part of the job of being an influencer. SO Abby follows Zara’s advice just to ignore it. But then Abby’s boyfriend starts receiving messages saying she’s been cheating on him. “Even though he knew that nothing happened, he got really distant with me. He packed up his things and said he was moving out, and he broke up with me”. Over the next two years, Matthew takes over Abby’s life. He sets up fake accounts and sends hundreds of messages to her friends and family fishing for information on her.”
Seven episodes of approximately 30 minutes each
Episode 1. The Beginning
Episode 2. The Widening Circle
Episode 3. The Man Upstairs
Episode 4. A Reckoning
Episode 5. A Mother’s Love
Episode 6. The Winding Clock
Episode 7. An Update