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Trending: The man who ‘abducted’ children as part of a ‘social experiment’

The man who ‘abducted’ children as part of a ‘social experiment’

09/05/2015

BBC World Service - Trending, The man who ‘abducted’ children as part of a ‘social experiment’

YouTuber Joey Salads ‘picked up’ children to make a point, but did his idea backfire?

We talk to the man who ‘abducted’ children as a ‘social experiment’, discuss efforts to combat ISIS in Jordan, and find out about the button that’s confounded the internet.

This week on Trending… the man who ‘abducted’ children as part of a ‘social experiment, Jordan’s efforts to combat Islamic State online, and the mysterious button that’s been pressed by nearly a million people.

Why did Joey Salads pretend to abduct children at a local park? The YouTuber says he was conducting a social experiment as a warning to parents about the dangers posed to their children. But was he right to publish such an inflammatory video?

We’re joined by the BBC’s Dominic Casciani who reports from Jordan’s e-Mufti. The country’s government has launched an online offensive against IS, but how effective is the project proving?

And finally, we press ‘The Button’, Reddit’s April fool’s joke that has taken on a life of its own. The seemingly pointless game has spawned an entire mythology complete with warring clans, and now a major American think-tank has waded into the debate.

(Photo: YouTuber Joey Salads used a dog to ‘pick up’ children. Credit: Joey Salads)

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