YouTube has removed all of Ruby Franke’s content from the platform and issued a warning to anyone who re-uploads it.
Franke - who used to run a popular parenting channel called ‘8 Passengers’ - was arrested on suspicion of child abuse crimes on August 30 after officials in Utah discovered a child with visible injuries and signs of malnourishment.
The YouTuber’s business partner Jodi Hildebrandt was also arrested on similar charges.
Now, YouTube has confirmed that the pair’s content has been scrubbed from the video-sharing site, and that the pair will no longer be able to create content on there.
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As per 2News, a spokesperson for YouTube said: “We can confirm that we have terminated two channels linked to Ruby Franke in accordance with our creator responsibility guidelines.”
‘8 Passengers’ was taken offline earlier in 2023, but her personal channel has been removed since her arrest.
Hildebrandt’s channel ‘ConneXions Classrooms’ and her professional therapist account had remained up on YouTube until September 13.
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The guidelines referenced by the YouTube statement relate to creators remaining responsible and accountable both online and offline.
“If we see that a creator’s on and/or off-platform behavior harms our users, community, employees or ecosystem, we may take action to protect the community," those rules state.
YouTube also reserves the right to remove both videos and channels ‘that [it] may consider to be inappropriate and result in penalties’.
“If a user’s off-platform behavior harms the YouTube community we may suspend monetization or terminate their channel,” the guidelines continue.
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The company states: "While these behaviors are rare, they can cause widespread harm to the YouTube community, and potentially damage the trust among creators, users, and advertisers,
"Severe violations that cause widespread harm to the community may have repercussions beyond standard enforcement actions."
Franke and Hildebrandt’s channels have been removed ‘in accordance with [YouTube’s] creator responsibility guidelines’.
YouTube also issued a warning to those who might re-upload content by the pair, stating: “If we’re made aware of a channel that is re-uploading content from a previously terminated channel, we may remove that content.”
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The company also said it reserves the right to ‘terminate the new channel if it’s dedicated to re-uploads’.
Currently, both Franke and Hildebrandt are in custody in Utah following their arrest.
They are expected to make an appearance at a court hearing on September 21.
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According to a statement from the Santa Clara-Ivins Public Safety Department, officials received a report of a child in need of assistance at around 10:50am on August 30.
The statement described the child as being 'emaciated and malnourished, with open wounds and duct tape around the extremities'.
The child was taken to a local hospital, while officials found another malnourished child in a nearby home who was also taken to hospital.
Following a search of the house, four children were placed in the care of the Department of Child and Family Services.
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According to an affidavit filed by an officer of the Santa Clara-Ivins Public Safety Department, Franke's 12-year-old son had climbed out of a window and run to a neighbor's house to ask for food and water.
The document says the neighbor called law enforcement after seeing duct tape on the child's ankles and wrists, the other malnourished child officials took to hospital was Franke's 10-year-old daughter.
A judge denied the former YouTuber bail after a detective noted 'the severity of the injuries of her two kids located in the home'.
If found guilty, Franke could face up to 15 years in prison.
Tom Wood