From page to screen, Nile Cappello uncovers the dark reality of child influencers
The investigative journalist and producer behind Netflix's 'Bad Influence' discusses child influencer exploitation, building trust with sources, and finding the right medium for each story.
When Nile Cappello began investigating the world of child influencers in 2017, she immediately noticed something troubling. Pre-teens were filming “Fashion Nova try-on hauls” and participating in “last to stop kissing” challenges on YouTube other social media platforms, creating content that made her uncomfortable both as “a current adult and former very awkward middle schooler.” Even more concerning was how brands commercialize these relationships, using what Cappello calls “pre-teen ‘ships’” to sell products.
“I just felt like… why the hell are we not all talking about this?” she tells Depth Perception. But without whistleblowers willing to come forward, editors weren't interested. It took her five years to find the sources she needed to publish her January 2023 article, “Crushed,” in The Atavist Magazine.
Cappello interviewed 11 former members of “the Squad,” a group of young content creators who filed a lawsuit alleging exploitation and abuse by their manager, Tiffany Smith, who is also the mother of YouTube star Piper Rockelle.
The article details how Johna Ramirez lost her relationship with her son, Jentzen, after he joined “the Squad," and how traditional child labor protections failed to extend to the burgeoning world of social media content. That article has now been adapted into Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing, a three-part Netflix documentary that premiered last month.
In this edition of Depth Perception, we speak with Cappello about building trust with vulnerable sources and choosing the best way to tell their stories. Note: This interview has been edited for conciseness and clarity. —Parker Molloy
Your reporting on “The Squad” revealed deeply concerning dynamics within child influencer culture. What initially drew you to investigate Piper Rockelle's circle, and at what point did you realize this wasn't just a story about internet fame but potentially exploitation?
I started following this space back around 2017, when crush content was really just coming into the mainstream on YouTube. As a current adult and former very awkward middle schooler, my spidey senses just immediately went off seeing 11-, 12-, 13-year-old girls doing Fashion Nova try on hauls and “last to stop kissing” challenges. These moments were regretful enough when organic and spread around the lunchroom, let alone scripted by adults and put on the internet for money. And then when I saw brands like Brat and Rock Your Hair get in on the action, commercializing crush content by using pre-teen “ships” to sell products, I just felt like... why the hell are we not all talking about this?
I actually pitched the topic to editors at the time, but was told we really needed a whistleblower to come forward in order to tell the story properly. It took five years, but I eventually found 11 whistleblowers in the 2022 lawsuit. I started chasing the story basically the day the lawsuit was filed.
You spent significant time with Johna Ramirez documenting her painful family fracture. How did you approach building trust with her while maintaining journalistic objectivity about such emotional subject matter?
Every journalist has their own sort of special sauce when it comes to relationships with subjects. If anything, I probably err on the side of being too invested in my subjects, but I don't really see another way to do it when you're working with such sensitive stories. Ultimately, my subjects know that maintaining journalistic integrity is necessary in order for my work to stand up to potential criticism or legal challenges. But they also know I'm a human with my own personal baggage, and emotions, and experiences that don't interfere with me doing my job, but allow me to do my job well.
Throughout your reporting, you encountered multiple families with similar allegations against Tiffany Smith. What challenges did you face in corroborating these accounts, especially when dealing with minors and complex power dynamics?
It was helpful that the allegations were well-documented in the civil lawsuit; that provided a pretty solid foundation in terms of the kids' testimonies. In terms of the parents, the biggest challenge was just getting them to understand the value of reported journalism versus taking matters into their own hands.
These kids all could have gone straight to social media with their stories, where they would've had full control of the narrative — and profited. Instead, I had to convince them to trust me to understand their stories and translate them in a way that would resonate with the biggest audience (and stand up to fact checking, etc). Gaining that trust took a long time, and a lot of help from directors Kief Davidson, Jenna Rosher, and the rest of the Decoy team in order to get them to not only see the vision but trust us to execute on it. It was a huge risk for them to take, and I'm just incredibly grateful that we were able to deliver on what we knew this could be.
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The Netflix adaptation Bad Influence brings this story to a wider audience. What aspects of the written investigation were most important for you to see preserved in the documentary format?
My main concern was not overly sensationalizing the story or allowing the real, serious victim accounts to get lost in some he-said, she-said. I have always felt that Johna's story did an excellent job of setting the stakes for these parents, and showing why it wasn't as easy as just pulling your kid out when things started to go downhill. So it was important to me that her story, as well as the stories of sexual abuse, were treated with the gravitas they deserve.
I also really wanted to make sure, as I always do, that the kids involved were left better than we found them — not worse. I wanted this project to uplift them and give them a platform that felt bigger than the sum of its parts, in a way that could rally an audience behind these incredibly brave kids. I also wanted to make sure that was extended to Piper; she's always been viewed as a victim by everyone involved in this project, and that was important to me.
Your career has spanned food and lifestyle writing, investigative journalism, and documentary production. Was there a pivotal moment or story that drew you toward investigating complex and, often dark subjects like child exploitation?
I've (clearly) always loved writing in all forms and on a wide range of topics. But as I really began to understand the power of these platforms and the responsibility that came with being able to write something that millions of people would not only read but also interact with, share, and talk about, I started to think more about what I wanted to be saying….
At the time, I was already exploring darker themes in my screenwriting work, and with the rise of unscripted [intellectual property] and the dawn of the golden age of docuseries, it felt like there might be an opportunity to streamline the stories I was telling to create my own IP. I was originally thinking of IP for scripted projects, but began thinking about documentaries after I was introduced to Campfire [Studios] and Ross Dinerstein through my then-scripted manager.
The first script I wrote was actually about a female cult leader, and in my research for real-life comps and potential IP materials, I came across the story of Gwen Shamblin and her church Remnant Fellowship. Feeling like the visual nature of the story and the access I developed lent itself better to a documentary format than an article. I approached Campfire and pitched them [The Way Down]. It has kind of all been kismet since then!
“These kids all could have gone straight to social media with their stories, where they would've had full control of the narrative — and profited. Instead, I had to convince them to trust me to understand their stories and translate them in a way that would resonate with the biggest audience.” — Nile Cappello
You've successfully moved between journalism, documentary production, and screenwriting — creating docuseries for HBO Max, Hulu, and Netflix. How do you approach storytelling differently across these mediums?
For me, the medium is always dictated by the story and access. For some stories, like those that became Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter and Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing (both on Netflix), I felt like there was groundwork that needed to be laid in an article first — which is why I brought them to The Atavist, and wrote “Girl in the Picture” (which became Into the Fire) and “Crushed” (which became Bad Influence). Versus in other cases, like The Way Down, I might not want to tip the subjects off that I'm investigating them, or the story is simply moving too quickly to wait for an article first.
I collaborate with a wide variety of publications, directors, production companies, and buyers, to create a bespoke approach that speaks to the specific story at hand. Sometimes that means an article, other times it might mean a podcast, celebrity executive producer, award-winning director, etc. I have a lot of levers I can pull in order to strategize the strongest package possible.
I'm also always thinking about what strategy will most benefit the people closest to the story. I only pursue projects where the victims (or loved ones) are on board — and I think a lot about what their goals are, and how I can help get them closer to achieving them. For some, that's setting the record straight or getting their POV out and voice heard. For others, it's sharing someone's legacy with the broadest audience possible. For some, it's changing laws, or drawing attention to a foundation. Those goals also factor into my approach in terms of which levers to pull at what time for which projects.
What's the best journalistic career advice you ever received?
Find people who want to tell their stories versus finding stories and forcing people to tell them. I think framing it this way means a lot less convincing people to talk, and a lot more listening to people who feel like they've been screaming into the void.
Further reading and viewing from Nile Cappello
Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing (Netflix, 2025)
Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter (Netflix, 2024)
“Crushed” (The Atavist Magazine, January 2023)
The Way Down: God, Greed, and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin (Max, 2021)
“The Girl in the Picture” (The Atavist Magazine, August 2021)