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Instagram under fire after graphic photos of murdered e-girl Bianca Devins go viral
16 July 2019, 17:17
Bianca Devins' fans are asking people to stop sharing photos of her murder.
On Sunday morning, 17-year-old e-girl Bianca Devins was murdered in Utica, New York.
Graphic photos of the teenager began to circulate on Instagram shortly after an allegedly obsessed male friend, Brandon Clark, posted them on his Instagram story and later on a Discord server with the caption: “Sorry fuckers, you’re gonna have to find someone else to orbit.” According to Rolling Stone, orbiting is a term used to describe men who lurk on a woman’s social media accounts in the hopes of having sex with her.
The images included a graphic photo of Devins with her throat cut, dead and covered in blood. Clark has since been charged with Devins' murder and his Instagram account has been deleted.
Now, fans of Devins are asking people to stop sharing photos of her murder online.
E-girls are traditionally known for their emo aesthetic and Devins gained her following by posting artistically edited photos on Instagram and other social media platforms. Devins' Instagram account (@escty) currently has over 111,000 followers.
While reports suggest Clark and Devins' were friends, other have characterised Clark as being 'obsessed' with her." Devins' murder reportedly took place after she and Clark attended a concert together in New York, although the specifics of it are still yet to be confirmed.
Immediately after the photos first surfaced, Bianca Devins started to trend on Instagram and then on social media at large. Her death was effectively being broadcast all over Instagram and the social media platform struggled to stop people from spreading images of her dead body.
Instagram has since managed to delete most traces of the photos. However, as they caught up, Devins' fans worked to put and end to them themselves. Not only did they report any posts containing the photos but they also began publishing their own posts, with positive photos of Bianca in them, in a bid to pay tribute to her and drown out the images of her murder.
They quickly got the hashtag #RIPBianca trending.
please spread beautiful images of bianca to drown out the horrid, disgusting ones so we can all remember her as the gorgeous, and gentle person she was. #ripbiancaً pic.twitter.com/Ys5RKUrE3t
— bebe (@bebestgf) July 16, 2019
Please people, STOP reposting graphic imagines of Bianca Devins body. Poor thing was only 17. Also, STOP spreading gossip about her death, the facts are still being collected. Show some fucking respect, this is exactly what her killer wanted. #ripbianca pic.twitter.com/H9rzW5uyaJ
— Kendall Rae💫 (@KendallRaeOnYT) July 15, 2019
#ripbianca a drawing of this funny, smart and clever girl to make the tag a bit nicer.
— rikka♿😳💖 (@bigbluesweater) July 16, 2019
she really liked vaporwave/90s aesthetic so i used it here. a lot of ppl on IG are spamming her tagged posts with stuff she liked. i wanted to contribute.
ok to repost w/credit. pic.twitter.com/HyxhCVov8h
rest in peace bianca devins. what that man did to you was absolutely horrific and inhumane. you didn’t deserve it. fly high, beautiful angel. #ripbianca pic.twitter.com/s2KuUA3Qmx
— josh ☾☁️ (@jdm_xo) July 15, 2019
an absolutely beautiful image of bianca’s vigil. i wish i could have been there to offer support. seeing this image made me sob it’s so wonderful to know that in this world of darkness and hate there are good people who care. 💜#ripbiancaً pic.twitter.com/uZXtQ10YKI
— bebe (@bebestgf) July 16, 2019
Being out here with her family and hearing what they had said brought me to tears as if I knew her personally. Such a beautiful soul , she didn’t deserve this at all. Gone but never forgotten.. rest in peace love 🥺💗💞 #ripbiancaً pic.twitter.com/6p7Eluyx4R
— H (@henalatic3) July 16, 2019
It's impressive to see young fans work together to stop the spread of harmful images on social media. That being said, they shouldn't have to. Instagram should have enough policies in place so that the spread of images like these never happens.
Devins' family held a vigil for her last night which friends and fans attended.
