In late 2021 on a snow-covered peak in Kyrgyzstan a devastating event unfolded that would expose the dark side of social-media platforms. Samuel Hervey a 25-year-old from Minnesota‚ sat cross-legged in front of his phone camera (which heʼd positioned carefully to capture everything)
The brilliant former biochemistry student - whoʼd been stuck in Central Asia due to covid rules - had been dealing with mental-health issues for months: his marriage ended his studies stopped and heʼd lost touch with his family. In the foreign country with no support system he turned to Discord for connection
A 15-year-old girl from Eastern Europe who went by the name “Fmlk“ spotted his cry for help; but instead of offering support she saw an opportunity. As a member of the notorious online group “764“ sheʼd been looking to boost her status: “It was like a contest of who could do the worst things“ she told reporters about three years after the incident
- The group named after its founders zip-code
- Known to FBI as a domestic terror organization
- Targets vulnerable people and children online
- Uses Discord to find and exploit victims
I was getting my big break
For a week she pushed Hervey towards his final decision sending voice messages and texts that encouraged him to end it all. On that cold November morning about 30 people watched as he poured gasoline over himself and lit the flame - some laughed‚ others cheered
The platformʼs safety measures didnt stop the tragedy: the chat room stayed active even after Herveyʼs death. Four months later Fmlk used the same server to encourage another suicide. Now 18 she says shes left the group behind but the memories haunt her: “Its something that happened when I was in a bad space“