The Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has thrown support behind The Mirror’s Missed campaign, calling for mindless trolling of the families of missing people to stop – and fast
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is backing The Mirror’s Missed campaign and has called for mindless trolls who subject the families of missing people to “vile online abuse” to be “stamped out.” Sir Keir told The Mirror: “Families whose loved ones are missing are living through unimaginable pain, and the vile online abuse some of them face is completely unacceptable.
“We expect every social media company to follow UK law and stamp out this behaviour. Under the Online Safety Act – which this government has strengthened – platforms must remove illegal harassment and abuse and stop it appearing in the first place. We’re also going further to ensure they give users tools to block anonymous trolls and filter hateful content.”
Yesterday, The Mirror added our weight to the charity Missing People’s new campaign to end the ‘tragedy trolling’ of families – the term given to cyberbullies acting as amateur sleuths and using platforms like TikTok and Facebook to spread hateful abuse. We told how families of high profile missing persons like Nicola Bulley and Madeleine McCann had been particularly targeted.
READ MORE: ‘My child disappeared after something awful happened – vile trolls blame me’
Condemning the trolls’ twisted behaviour, Sir Keir Starmer said it has even hindered police investigations. He said: “We all have a responsibility to think carefully about what we share online. “Misinformation and harmful AI‑generated content don’t just cause real distress to families, in some cases they can also disrupt police investigations and delay justice. Behind every headline are real families who are desperately searching for answers. This government is standing behind them all, and I wholeheartedly support the Mirror’s Missing People [Missed] campaign to shine a light on this important issue.”
Missing People – which also backs our Missed campaign – is calling for tragedy trolling to stop. Ross Miller, CEO of Missing People – who have asked online content creators to sign a pledge promising to treat people with respect – said: “This has got to stop – right now.”
‘Trolls have told us sent us ransom messages about our missing son’
Jack O’Sullivan went missing in Bristol on 2 March 2024, aged 22. His school matron mum, Catherine O’Sullivan, 54, and teacher dad, Alan, 60, have another son, Benjamin, 29, and live in Bristol. Catherine says: “On Friday March 1 2024, Jack decided to go out with some new friends from his course to a party, and we never saw him again. Searches were done of the river, the harbour and the land nearby. But nothing whatsoever was found of Jack.
“Our unimaginable pain was made worse by online trolls, who reared their ugly heads from the moment we went public with our appeal to find Jack. I’ve had direct messages on Facebook saying ‘You’re wasting your time looking for Jack’ and ‘You’re never going to see him again’.
“We’ve also had ransom-type messages. People have told us to go to different locations to look for Jack, almost like dangling a carrot … to see how you respond. Going public and sharing Jack’s story on platforms like Facebook has allowed us to spread the word. On Facebook we have 103,000 followers. But with that comes trolling. And I worry I’ll miss something if I don’t read every little thing.
“That’s why I’m backing the Mirror and Missing People’s tragedy trolling campaign – and I’m pleased the Prime Minister has thrown his support behind it. This isn’t a drama, it’s my life. It’s horrendous. I hope it makes people stop and think.
“One of the worst instances we’ve had was an email sent directly to me saying ‘I’ve killed Jack’. It said where and when, and they even gave their name. I was floored. We’ve contacted the police, and as far as we’re aware the person was charged with malicious communication. We’ve had, ‘he’s dead’, ‘he’s drowned in the river’. Who would write something like that?”
*If you have any information, see www.findjackosullivan.co.uk, or see FindJack on Facebook
‘Cruel online sleuths accuse my poor dad of the most horrible things’
Patricia Duncan went missing, aged 51, on 15 November 2002 from Buckie, Scotland. Her NHS worker daughter Johan Duncan, 47, still lives in Buckie and has two children, Matthew, 28, and Trista, 17, with her road worker partner, Darren, 51. She says: “On the night of the 15 November 2002, my sisters Fiona and Louise, and my mum were at my parents’ house watching movies.
“When dad got up in the morning there was no sign of mum. She took her jacket, cigarettes and lighter – no purse. We never saw her again and no trace of her has ever been found, although there have been some sightings. When my mum went missing, it was before Facebook or TikTok, so the online comments are worse now.
“They are all aimed at my poor dad … . ‘you should look at the dad’ and ‘the dad knows more than he’s letting on’. It’s really upsetting because, of course, he’s been investigated. The police investigated the closest people to mum and found nothing at all. People seem to do their own investigations these days, they go live on social media and push their opinions onto people. I say, ‘think of the family and friends, the loved ones.’ Essentially, online sleuthing is gossip. People hide behind a screen. I hope this campaign makes them pause.”
Based On A True Story film
Catastrophe actress Sharon Horgan’s hard hitting short film, Based On A True Story, shines a light on the pain caused by tragedy trolling. Created by her production company, Merman, it asks audiences to reconsider their relationship with the true crime genre and to respect real people and their true stories.
Mum-of-two Sharon, 55, says: “We can all relate to that feeling of losing your child for a split second. It’s a feeling that makes my hair stand on end, even thinking about it. I met the parents of some of the missing children on set. Just to have an opportunity to work with them and to work alongside the charity, it makes your job feel kind of worthwhile.
“It’s one of the bonuses of being in this business, when you feel like you can effect change. I barely kept it together when I was talking to them. It’s something about not having any answers. It’s so hard, without closure. I cannot even put into words how it must feel. To tragedy trolls, I would say, ‘think of the real people. Think of the mums, dads, sisters, brothers.’ Real people go missing every day. But, for the most part, we are consuming it as stories, and entertainment. You disassociate from it. Think of the real people behind the stories.”
Missing People’s Demands
Missing People represents the 170,000 people who go missing in the UK every year.
The charity is calling on content creators to sign a pledge on their website, which says: “I pledge to support Missing People & Responsible Narratives in treating real stories with real respect.”
They are demanding people:
- Avoid speculation or sharing unverified claims
- Treat real stories with respect and remember there is a real person at the centre
- Reject AI‑generated or misleading images and audio
- Think about the family who may read your words
- Choose empathy over entertainment
- Once a person is found, respect their privacy by removing any content you might have shared
Sign the pledge at https://www.missingpeople.org.uk/based-on-a-true-story
*The Mirror approached TikTok and Facebook for comment.
READ MORE: ‘My little baby sister vanished in supermarket now I’m haunted by vile trolls’
