While living in an RV, US STEAM and Robotics Teacher Sarah Balisalisa created the channel, “Our Best Life Family,” displaying her homeschool adventures with her three children. Behind the screen, Balisalisa has the same image as a kind, loving mother and teacher.
Family vlogging, like Balisalisa, captures memories that last forever and gives families a platform to connect with others and share their experiences. However, not every mother on YouTube acts the same in real life as they’re perceived on the internet.
Family vlogger Ruby Franke, her husband Kevin Franke, and their six children had over 2.5 million subscribers on their YouTube channel, 8 Passengers. For a while, they became the internet’s favorite family.
What started as a light-hearted family vlogging their everyday lives turned into a child abuse case. The truth behind Ruby’s cruel punishments was revealed when, on August 30th, 2023, this adored YouTube mom’s face covered news channels across the country, with bodycam footage of Ruby’s arrest starting to flood every social media platform.
In the blink of an eye, 8 Passengers’ reputation plummeted.
The main problem wasn’t just Ruby and her family, but the people who engaged in the drama. Their subscribers only fed into the abuse, giving them more and more views. We just stood and watched what happened.
This year, Hulu released a documentary series titled Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke. Meanwhile, her daughter released a book titled The House of My Mother.
As the media went wild, word about the effects of child abuse began to spread.
The Franke children were more like employees than children.
Ruby and Kevin hired therapist Jodi Hildibrant, who taught the family to take the kids’ possessions away to build “gratitude.” Ruby took away her eldest son’s bedroom,
forcing him to sleep on a beanbag for months, and she used starvation as a punishment for “bad” behavior. She even sent him to “wilderness therapy,” made to help kids with mental disorders disconnect.
Ruby’s punishments became nothing short of abuse.
In 2022, the channel disappeared from YouTube. Since then, things only got worse. Hildibrant’s “therapy group,” Connexions, was created to connect Mormon mothers, but Ruby became involved in the group as it slowly turned into a cult.
Hildibrant claimed to be possessed by the devil, begging Ruby for help. Freshman Gina Brengs said, “I think [Jodi] might have something wrong with her.”
Shari described how creepy this relationship was, alluding to it being much more than help. Not only did they share a bed, kicking Kevin out of the room, but they were often seen leaving the room together, giggling like teenagers in love.
When Shari–the Franke’s eldest daughter–moved out, she had no idea what Ruby would do next. Jodi told Ruby that the family was possessed, but instead of the comforting nature Jodi had been given, they needed it “beat out of them.”
Religious manipulation from Ruby was the actual possessor. Kevin and Chad were kicked out, Shari was disowned, and the three remaining kids were left with nothing. A happy, Mormon family on the outside used their religion for manipulation.
In 2023, a young boy showed up at the police station, frail, starved, with duct tape around his ankles–Ruby’s youngest son. His sister was later found in Jodi’s house with a shaved head, also malnourished. The two other girls were at Ruby’s, physically unharmed.
Ruby and Jodi were finally arrested and charged with up to 30 years in prison for numerous counts of child abuse. The story of the Frankes proves how much perspective alters our brains. Social media is nothing but a false, seemingly perfect world.
Influencing, specifically kidfluencing, is so popular today. What we need to remember is that you never know what’s happening behind the camera until it may be too late.
