Cracking down on self-styled "auditors" targeting vulnerable people in Newcastle

There are a handful of people in Newcastle city centre filming others who may be going through tough times or in some cases just dress differently.

These self-styled “auditors” are using Meta glasses to film people without their consent. They make videos which are then uploaded to social media and ruthlessly exploited for likes attracting comments that are often dehumanising. 

Deputy Leader of the Council, and Liberal Democrat Councillor for West Fenham, Mark Mitchell said,

“These are people who are setting out, it would appear, to film people who are experiencing vulnerability and using that to create clicks on social media. To us, that’s really exploitative.”

While the Council can’t stop people filming in public places, it can act against those who are harassing or persisting with unwelcome attention. Mark said that the Council was cracking down on was "specific behaviour which is deliberate, is being repeated, and is being used for a specific purpose – to upload and get clicks”.

The Independent newspaper has picked up on these developments and written a story focusing on Newcastle's approach and interviewing Cllr Mitchell: “Social media vultures are ‘ruthlessly exploiting’ the most vulnerable for views – one council has had enough”.

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(Image: NEWCASTLE CITY COUNCIL)