Did something actually happen on Sunday night?

[woodenbatandball]

I was reading a post that said the site was infiltrated with child abuse images on Sunday under some kind of attack.
Lots of people hadn't been online to see this but some said they did. The thread was then deleted and there has been no explanation. And the media is silent about it. Can anyone confirm if this actually happened and if it did, why aren't Mumsnet commenting? All seems badly handled for Mumsnet not to comment either way.

I'm also shocked that not a single major media outlet has a story up about this yet, from what I've seen. Bizarre.

Anyway, hopefully the volunteers that had to deal with this have been offered access to counseling services.

I think all users of MN need to know that the site will be made watertight. ESPECIALLY those who would be extra triggered by such images ( given that few people could see them without being distressed / disturbed, whatever their experience)

It is very surprising to many that the MN photo filters (if they exist) did not prevent their appearance. People using the site need a clear commitment to sorting this.

MNHQ didn’t even take the most obvious action , suspending photo sharing, until over 12 hours after it started!

Asking for an official pinned communication with the users who donate their content is hardly an unreasonable request

You are really not making it out to be bigger than it is. It is absolutely awful. Really seriously awful. Think you need to try and trust MN that they are dealing with it in an appropriate way and them posting lots of updates about it probably would not be appropriate. I would have thought it will be a criminal investigation.

You think it a good idea for the MSM to publish it, so all the loons out there copy it?

Hey @Velmy I come from a similar background. I think that's why I'm questioning their response xxxx

I take it photos are allowed again? Hoped it had stopped until new steps taken.
I see there's one on "The Litter Tray" posted this morning.

I won't be doing my usual sitting in bed last thing, reading posts in that case. I was doing just that until 12.30 am on Sunday, luckily saw nothing and neither do I ever want to,

No - you still can't post photos. What you saw was probably a link to a site, with their photo illustrating the story.

That is a GIF, not a photo, which are still not allowed.

No - photos are still blocked.
Links and GIFs are postable though

I think it's a good idea for the MSM to do their job, which is to report on public interest stories. I'd say CSAM appearing on the UK's (world's?) largest parenting forum while the website was left unstaffed overnight is a massive story.

If this had happened on a video game's website, or a football team's website, they'd quite rightly be all over the news for it.

It's not the MSM's responsibility to stop people copying it, it's MumsNet's.

Lots of issues only get resolved once the media has publicised them. As someone who has worked as both a journo and in community management/safety, I find it very odd that this hasn't been reported on, seemingly anywhere!

@PiggyPigalle - actually you've raised a really interesting point. You can stick a photo on a photo hosting site and link to it here, which is I suspect the picture you have seen.

@JustineMumsnet has MNHQ considered this additional risk?

If you've worked in content before I'm surprised you don't know the difference between a security breach and a spambot attack.

It's not news, though.

I agree it was horrific and I feel for those who inadvertently saw the images but it is a known risk to the internet and sites that allow content to be uploaded.

It doesn't happen much on smaller forums like MN but Facebook, Reddit, Insta, TicTok, etc have all had this happen multiple times.

I agree there should have been things in place to minimize the risk of this happening, but it will always be a risk.

Let’s not forget that MN has been the target of attacks from MRAs and TRAs for years and years, motivated by an hatred of women and women talking to each other, and nothing much is ever done. I am sure the person or people posting CSAM had a similar axe to grind.

Not to mention the threads started by disgusting fetishists, looking to reel in mothers to give them wank material advice in good faith. But all traffic is good traffic, eh?

It’s all well and good saying it’s been dealt with and time to move on, because there will be a next time.

Well yes they do, because without full information how can they make an informed decision about whether to risk staying on MN?

Knowing what happened, and how it is being addressed allows us to decide, for example, not to use the site at times when there is no active moderation.

It allows us to decide whether MNHQ have taken steps sufficient to reassure us and continue to make them money by providing content and/or browsing the site.

It's a photo of the poster's cat entitled "The Offender."
So posting photos is possible.
Bloody Thing has started messing indoors .... ! | Mumsnet

Afternoon, everyone.
Understandably we have a lot of threads in Site Stuff about what happened in the early hours of yesterday morning. In order to update you all about next steps as quickly as possible, we're going to close this thread and others to new posts for now and will post any updates on this thread so we can keep all the answers to questions and info on what's happening together.
We'll be back with any updates as soon as we can.
MNHQ