This ‘sextortion’ campaign is hilarious AF with a strong message
If you've ever been on Tinder, a dating website, or even just existed somewhere on the internet, then you have probably been approached by a stranger looking for nudes.
The phrase 'send nudes' has become ingrained in popular culture, as both a joke and as a genuine request.
While it's all fun and games for some adults to exchange racy pictures to partners they trust, it's another thing for children and teens to be approached by strangers online looking to take advantage of their naivety.
In many cases, sextortion can turn an exchange of flirty photos into a tragedy.
Sextortion is the act of sending someone a nude, and then having them extort you for more sexual content while threatening to leak, release or send the images they already have to your friends, family or workplace if you don't comply.
It's a concept explored by TV dramas like Black Mirror and exposed in hard-hitting documentaries like Stalking Amanda Todd.
The Canadian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children has created a new campaign to combat the issue, through the use of a pretty odd animal.
The campaign curaters have created a series of GIFs, images and videos which describe why teens should send pictures of naked mole rats to nude-seekers when asked, rather than an actual pic in the nip.
'Simply put, sextortion is blackmail,' says the CSPCC.
'It’s when someone threatens to send a sexual image or video of you to other people if you don’t pay them or provide more sexual content.'
'Unfortunately, sextortion has been on the rise lately. But there are ways to prevent and fight it.'
And these ways include sending a sassy naked mole rat as a response to that demanding message.
Next time we get a thirsty lothario in our DMs, we know what we're sending back.
