BAD INFLUENCE

KATIE SORENSEN WAS WILLING TO DO ANYTHING IT TOOK TO UP HER INSTA FOLLOWER COUNT

- Kylie Walters

In the months leading up to December 2020, self-professed “mum influencer” Katie Sorensen regularly took to her Instagram account to share beauty tips and parenting advice with her modest 6000 followers. But things blew up for the Californian mother-of-two after she went online to share the details of a terrifying abduction ordeal.

“My children were the targets of an attempted kidnapping,” Sorensen, 30, shared in a video that she posted to her @motherhoodessentials_ account, which went on to be seen a mammoth five million times, earning her tens of thousands of new followers and leaving her inundated with messages of support.

“I want to share that story with you in an effort to raise awareness as to what signs to look for and encourage parents to be more aware of their surroundings and what is going on around them,” she added.

But what was posted as a seemingly well-meant warning and helpful advice for parents was actually far more sinister. Sorensen had not only made the whole thing up, but she was prepared to point the finger at two innocent people to protect her lie.