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Mothers are naturally expected to love and protect their children, not torture and torment them. 

Ruby Franke claimed to be a loving mother. In fact, the young, passionate mom amassed a billion views and millions of dollars from her YouTube-famous show, “8 Passengers,” which followed the daily lives of Franke, her husband, and their six children in Utah. 

The wholesome show took an unholy turn behind the scenes, though, when it was discovered Ruby Franke and her friend and fellow You-Tuber, Jodi Hildebrandt, were cruelly and criminally practicing what they preached about being an authoritarian parent on Franke’s younger children.   

Their on-camera teachings were bad enough. Off-camera police say it was even worse. No one knew just how awful until one day, Ruby Franke’s emaciated, 12-year-old son showed up at a neighbor’s door, wounded, bound, and begging for water. 

Join us for more on the case in this episode of the Gulf Coast Confidential podcast, “Mom-fluencer Ruby Franke makes millions peddling child abuse.” 

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