The Online Cults That Are Pushing Kids to Film Their Suicides

Members of 764 and related groups produce content so horrifying that people might dismiss it as urban legend. But it's real... and it's accessible to anyone with a smart phone.

*Warning - This article contains extremely sensitive content, including discussion of self-harm and suicide. Discretion is advised*

“Cut deeper, bitch,” a voice growled. The young girl, her face mostly obscured by long brown hair, held her left arm over a toilet. In her right hand, a box cutter wavered only millimeters away from the skin of her inner wrist. With a sudden burst of resolve, the girl pushed the blade into her skin, and with one quick motion, made a deep, long cut all the way up her forearm. The girl stared in shock for a moment as blood poured out onto the toilet and the surrounding floor, and then let out a blood-curling shriek as she realized what she’d done. I’ll never forget that sound.

As much as I wanted to turn away from the video on the screen, which I found in a Telegram channel belonging to the child exploitation and extortion group known as Harm Nation, I couldn’t manage to pull my eyes away. The video I was watching was taken from a screen-recorded video call from the online messaging app Discord. Harm Nation and similar groups use Discord’s video call feature to host “cut shows” where young victims are coerced into self-harming on live video while predators watch and encourage them to keep going.