Piper was 8 when her mum put her on YouTube. Behind the scenes was more disturbing than anyone realised.

Glittery bedroom backdrops. Choreographed dances. Thumbnail images designed to capture millions of clicks.

This was the world Piper Rockelle inhabited as her childhood was documented, packaged and monetised for the entertainment of strangers. Her videos — often featuring bikini try-ons, dancing, and crush pranks — generated millions of views and, consequently, significant revenue.

Behind the camera stood her mother, Tiffany Smith, orchestrating every aspect of her daughter's growing empire. But as Netflix's new documentary series Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing reveals, what happened off-camera was far more disturbing than the content that made it onto YouTube.

Watch the trailer for Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing. Article continues after video.

Bad Influence doesn't just tell Piper's story — it exposes an entire industry built on exploiting children for profit, with virtually no regulation or oversight. Directors Jenna Rosher and Kief Davidson investigate the phenomenon of child influencers, uncovering a pattern of exploitation that extends far beyond a single family.

Central to Piper's content empire was the "The Squad" — a rotating group of young teens recruited by Tiffany, who became supporting characters in her videos. Former Squad members and their parents speak candidly about their experiences in the documentary, describing a pressure-cooker environment and alleged abuse at the hands of Tiffany.

The Squad members recall 12-hour filming days, often during school weeks, where they were expected to manufacture drama, fake relationships, and create "shipping" content — videos suggesting romantic connections between Squad members which would drive engagement. This fabricated romance content, involving children as young as 12, was particularly disturbing given the audience demographics. They also describe a cult-like environment, where members and even their parents were fearful of leaving.

Image: Netflix.

"War was waged on you if you left The Squad," director Davidson said on the You Can't Make This Up podcast. "These kids started to become fearful. They started to get hate texts. It was very, very difficult for the kids."

Sawyer, a former member of The Squad, detailed the disturbing reality behind the camera and the extreme discomfort he and other members felt performing scripted romantic scenarios at the direction of Tiffany.

"We were definitely directed to do stuff that isn't really right for an adult to be telling little kids to do," Sawyer said.

Also included in the documentary are allegations of sexualised behaviour from Tiffany towards the children, including, in some instances, flirting and kissing.

"Tiffany would flirt with [Gavin]. That was very weird," Sophie's mother, Heather, recalled. "She would say, 'Do you have a boner from looking at me?' to Gavin. At this point, he was 12 or 13."

In one instance, another squad member, Raegan recalled his "shock" when Tiffany forced herself on him during a livestream.

In 2022, the situation escalated dramatically when 11 former members of the Squad filed a $22 million lawsuit against Smith and her business partner Hunter Hill. The lawsuit alleged violations of child labour laws, and claims that the children were subjected to "inappropriate, offensive and abusive treatment" including "wildly offensive and sexually explicit comments" from Smith.

Image: Netflix.

One former member, Corinne, claimed that at the age of 12 or 13, she accompanied Smith to a post office where Smith was sending what appeared to be a package containing Rockelle's underwear. When Corinne questioned this, she alleges that Smith responded casually: "Old men like to smell it."

"This lawsuit was never about money — it was to make sure she couldn't do what she did to me to another kid," Sophie said.

"I think that, so far, Tiffany has gotten off the hook," director Davidson added. "She's a very smart businesswoman in a lot of ways and knows how to work the system. I just hope at the end of the day that this documentary becomes a real conversation piece for families and their kids to at least know what to look out for. And there are ways to do this safely. We have to find a way to put safeguards in place."

Smith and Hill vehemently denied all allegations made against them, and in October 2024, the lawsuit eventually reached a $1.85 million settlement.

These stories reveal patterns of financial exploitation — parents acting as managers while controlling all earnings, children unaware of their own net worth despite generating millions in revenue, and contracts that favoured adults at the expense of the young performers.

Unlike traditional entertainment, where child performers are protected by labour laws, trust accounts, and limited working hours, child influencers exist in a regulatory void. Their parents often serve as manager, agent, director, and financial controller — with no oversight.

Image: Netflix.

Today, Piper is 17 years old and still creating social media content for her followers, with 6.1 million followers on Instagram and 14.7 million on TikTok. It appears that her current content is still managed and directed by Tiffany and Hunter.

The documentary shows many of these child influencers grappling with complex feelings towards their identities and their own digital footprints that can never truly be erased.

Bad Influence doesn't offer easy solutions to the problems it exposes. Instead, it forces viewers to confront uncomfortable questions about our collective responsibility in creating a market for this content. As we scroll past videos of children dancing, unboxing toys, or participating in challenges, are we complicit in their exploitation?

When the credits roll on this three-part series, one thing becomes painfully clear: in the attention economy, childhood is increasingly becoming a commodity — and the price paid by its youngest stars is immeasurable.

Feature Image: Netflix.