I have become fascinated with the Ruby Franke case. I have not publicly discussed the case because when the story broke months ago, I was not convinced that more commentary would be beneficial to add to the discussion, namely because this story was quite dark. However, the statement she gave in her recent court appearance was unexpected.
A Utah-based family, the Frankes became quite popular several years ago via their “8 Passengers” YouTube channel that had over two million subscribers. They fit into the YouTuber families who look like the perfect family — well-dressed, church-going (Mormon), wife, husband, six children. But by June 2020, some of those subscribers started to take note of some strange happenings in the family. Followers began criticizing Ruby Franke’s punishing techniques, they noticed the degree to which she allowed her children to prank one another, and then…
