Cyber Bullying Through Blast Sites

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Cyber bullying is more common than ever with the popularity of what's called "blast sites."

These type of websites name names and tell tales, usually of sexual exploits. Blast sites have gone national in the last few years, with localized sites accessible to a nation of bloggers.

And now, sites have become specialized. In Memphis, there are Facebook blast sites specifically to many of the Memphis City High Schools.

One young lady agreed to talk to FOX13 if we kept her identity hidden. She's speaking out against blast sites, and has been a victim of the cyber bullying. She is a recent graduate of a Memphis City High School.

"They said I didn't look attractive, that I didn't smell appealing in private areas, that I performed oral sex," says the victim.

She said she was alerted to the comments by a friend who saw her named, first and last name, on one of Memphis' blast sites.

"I went on there, I looked on the page, it was a few pages over and then I saw my name," said the victim. "When I saw it, I was shocked."

One of the most notorious local blast sites is "Brutal Weeks." We talked to the three students behind the blast site, who said the mystery of their identities adds to the popularity of the site.

The site has a slogan.

"Its nothing personal, it's just your business," said Brutal Weeks.

The students said all of the content is derived from other people; Brutal Weeks is just the messenger. People send those messages, and they copy and paste it on the Brutal Weeks Facebook wall.

Brutal Weeks do not consider themselves cyber bullies. They said most information is coming from the blast subject's friends.

"You only have one friend, yourself." said Brutal Weeks. "You shouldn't trust other everybody with your business. So if you don't want it to be put out there, watch who you tell it to. That's what were trying to say, watch who you tell your business to."

With nearly 1,000 followers, the site focuses on several Memphis City Schools and area colleges. Other Memphis blast sites have been created.

"Amateurs. Amateurs. All of them have been deleted. Brutal Weeks knows when to cool it down."

One post describes two girls breaking into another girl's house and beating her unconscious. It said that girl is lying about who is the father of her baby. That single post resulted in 70 plus comments, common for Brutal Weeks.

They said it has become a form of entertainment for Memphis students, and they are often messaged for more gossip after an even a brief break.

"We just laugh at it. Priceless. We love it," said Brutal Weeks.

For Brutal Weeks it's a hobby, but for Nik Richie, it's a lucrative business. Richie created TheDirty.Com in Scottsdale, Arizona but it quickly became a worldwide phenomenon.

TheDirty.Com has a Memphis and University of Memphis page. Richie calls it a more personal kind of tabloid. The Dirty exploded in popularity in just a few years; with 15 million site visitors he calls The Dirty Army.

"People like to see their neighbor, they like to see someone they actually know and they want to see them in serious situations, behind the scenes, the dirt," said Richie.

Richie said despite the content, The Dirty is PG-13. Posts often describe the subjects sexual habits and are always accompanied by a picture. While some body parts are covered, faces aren't.

But Richie says only about 25 % of submissions are posted. He said he's sued frequently but never successfully. But will often take posts down just from an email request.

"I have a removal department," said Richie. "Its not like if a post is on there its set in stone. I take stuff down all the time actually. It's really a case by case basis depending on how popular the site is on the website."

But for the less commercial sites, often found on Facebook, blast subjects are often helpless.

"The person can't do anything about it because they're still on Facebook, they're still on Facebook, they're still allowed to post whatever they want," says the young victim who talked to Fox13.

This victim says she's reported several sites to Facebook for cyber bullying.

"So far I haven't seen any action taken, the sites are still there," said the victim. "They don't seem like they've been blocked at all or taken off Facebook."

She said she just hopes people know most of what's written is not true. But said many victims are angry, and anxious to find out who is behind the site.

"If somebody finds out who these people are, I'm sure there will be some type of violence," said the victim. "They're making enemies with everyone."

Facebook told FOX13 it has a very aggressive campaign against cyber bullying sites, including a team that reviews when a page is reported, getting law enforcement involved if necessary.