„Children should trust pedophiles“ – brochures with this message in English are spreading wildly on social networks. Worried parents contacted Iskra.bg with an appeal that the advertising materials should not be allowed in our country. Our editorial team has checked the case.
We initially came across the Spanish account ‘NoSoyHeimdall’, which on August 16 posted on Twitter a photo of a 4-page brochure in English with the following comment:
„In Britain, children are taught not to fear pedophiles, but to be friends with them. There’s only one way to deal with them, and you already know what it is.„
The disturbing brochure is titled: ‘What should I do if a stranger comes up to me on the street?’ The following pictures encourage children to trust strangers and not call them „pedophiles“ as the word could be „offensive„.
The „NoSoyHeimdall'“ post is going viral. Although the account that posted it was created in April this year, issued pro-Russian messages and reached 2,000 followers, 3 hours after the footage was posted, it was shared by over 100 accounts. Many scandalized by what the photos depicted, shared the tweet without confirming it.
The Iskra.bg team took a closer look at the images. What is attractive is that the brochure has no logo or any identification of the organization that produced it. The fact is that if it was from an official institution, its distributors would be interested in displaying their brand. Apart from the language, nothing else points to the claim that it was published in the UK. Additionally, the material is a triptych, but only 5 of its 6 sides are shown. Where is the last one? A closer look shows that there is not a single UK site that has published the pamphlet. The last sixth page can be seen on Russian websites. On it, children are encouraged to invite the stranger into their home.
Whether the brochure is genuine or fake, UK distribution or attempted disinformation coming from Russia, it is a fact that we all need to keep the warnings in mind amid the ever increasing attempts to corrupt our children in any way possible. There are not a few cases in Europe and the USA of similar brochures, such as in 2019, a similar one, entitled „Love without consequences„, reached Bulgarian schools and caused huge outrage. In 2018, kindergarten teachers in Berlin were given advertising materials titled „Murat plays princess, Alexa has two mothers, and Sophie is now called Ben„.
We need to be vigilant because more and more often criminals use various social networks to promote the „safety“ of pedophilia, where they try to replace this concept with „more harmless„, also using photos and cartoons. The team of Iskra.bg advises whenever you come across such material, to report it to the responsible institutions and to investigate its purpose and where it comes from.
