Instagram under fire after graphic photos of murdered e-girl Bianca Devins go viral

16 July 2019, 17:17 | Updated: 17 July 2019, 08:57

Instagram under fire after graphic photos of murdered e-girl Bianca Devins go viral
Instagram under fire after graphic photos of murdered e-girl Bianca Devins go viral. Picture: Instagram: @escty

Bianca Devins' fans are asking people to stop sharing photos of her murder.

By Sam Prance

On Sunday morning, 17-year-old e-girl Bianca Devins was murdered in Utica, New York.

Graphic photos of the teenager began to circulate on Instagram shortly after an allegedly obsessed male friend, Brandon Clark, posted them on his Instagram story and later on a Discord server with the caption: “Sorry fuckers, you’re gonna have to find someone else to orbit.” According to Rolling Stone, orbiting is a term used to describe men who lurk on a woman’s social media accounts in the hopes of having sex with her.

The images included a graphic photo of Devins with her throat cut, dead and covered in blood. Clark has since been charged with Devins' murder and his Instagram account has been deleted.

Now, fans of Devins are asking people to stop sharing photos of her murder online.

E-girls are traditionally known for their emo aesthetic and Devins gained her following by posting artistically edited photos on Instagram and other social media platforms. Devins' Instagram account (@escty) currently has over 111,000 followers.

While reports suggest Clark and Devins' were friends, other have characterised Clark as being 'obsessed' with her." Devins' murder reportedly took place after she and Clark attended a concert together in New York, although the specifics of it are still yet to be confirmed.

Immediately after the photos first surfaced, Bianca Devins started to trend on Instagram and then on social media at large. Her death was effectively being broadcast all over Instagram and the social media platform struggled to stop people from spreading images of her dead body.

Instagram has since managed to delete most traces of the photos. However, as they caught up, Devins' fans worked to put and end to them themselves. Not only did they report any posts containing the photos but they also began publishing their own posts, with positive photos of Bianca in them, in a bid to pay tribute to her and drown out the images of her murder.

They quickly got the hashtag #RIPBianca trending.

It's impressive to see young fans work together to stop the spread of harmful images on social media. That being said, they shouldn't have to. Instagram should have enough policies in place so that the spread of images like these never happens.

Devins' family held a vigil for her last night which friends and fans attended.

Our thoughts and condolences go out to Bianca Devins' friends and family.