There’s a campaign to have four-year-old Wren Eleanor removed from TikTok. Her mum refuses.

If you're a parent that spends any amount of time online, it's more than likely the algorithm sends you content from parenting creators. 

So it's also more than likely you've heard the name Wren Eleanor. 

In a TikTok account run by her mum, Jacquelyn Paul, the four-year-old girl has gained a following to the tune of 17 million people — making theirs one of the largest creator accounts on the platform. 

Single mum Jacquelyn has been regularly posting videos since Wren was a newborn, including daily life updates and outfit content. 

Watch: Jacquelyn Paul responds to allegations. Post continues below. 

These days it's not uncommon for Wren's videos to get upwards of five million views a pop. 

But as Jacquelyn continues to document her daughter's life online, she has now come under intense pressure to remove Wren from the platform altogether over fears for her safety. 

A concern she seems to be ignoring. 

What is the 'Wren Effect'?

A parent sharing adorable videos of their child online to remember sweet life moments seems pretty harmless, right? But when you look a little closer, perhaps not.

Back in 2022, the parenting community began questioning Jacquelyn's intentions for frequently posting, suggesting she might be putting her daughter in harm's way.

The biggest red flag was the fact that most of Wren's videos were being saved thousands of times — a function that means users are bookmarking the content to watch again or download. 

Many child safety experts warned that if a video of a child is being saved in large volumes, it could be a sign that they have caught the attention of child predators. 

Particular when you consider which videos are getting the most attention. 

"Wren eating a corn dog at a country fair has been saved 375,000 times," one TikTok user pointed out. 

While this type of video may seem innocent enough to most of us, some pointed to its suggestive nature. That coupled with the fact there was creepy commentary beneath the videos was enough for people to question how they shared their own children online.

The 'Wren Effect' immediately took hold across the internet, spurring parents to delete content of their children out of fear predators would see or syndicate it.

At the time, The Quicky host Claire Murphy spoke to content creator Kayla who was so horrified about what she was seeing unfold with Wren Eleanor, she decided to remove all imagery of her children online.

"I got on Reddit and saw the comments, the screenshots, and the fan accounts that were made for this little three-year-old girl and just the sexualisation of it. It kept me up all night. It really overwhelmed me, especially since I went from having a couple of thousand followers, to 130k in three months," she said.

"I'm not going to wait for something to make me sick or scare me. I'm just going to eliminate it before it happens. So as soon as I got that bad feeling, I was like, that's it. And I told my fiancé to do the same, so we made all of our socials private except for TikTok where we just removed all the videos of our kids, and we will no longer show their faces."

Other successful TikTok influencer, Maia Knight — who gained 10 million followers by sharing videos of her twins, Violet and Scout — clearly heeded the warnings. 

As of December 2022, she removed her daughter's faces from any video content she posted on the platform. 

@maiaknight

♬ original sound - Maia Knight

"I'm making a choice for my daughters to protect them," she said in a video explaining her decision. "They're toddlers now and I've decided to not show them." 

What has been the response from Jacquelyn Paul?

In 2022, some TikTok users alleged that Wren's image was showing up on child pornography websites and as a result Jacquelyn was being investigated by authorities. 

Given the furore that had erupted online, Jacquelyn took to her account to address the controversy. 

She refuted all claims that her daughter's image was showing up on illegal websites and said law enforcement agencies including the FBA had confirmed this was false. 

@wren.eleanor

FALSE RUMORS: What You Need To Know

♬ original sound - Wren & Jacquelyn

"What started out as a hobby to make a digital scrapbook for my daughter Wren, grew into an interesting role for me as a single stay-at-home-mum," she said. "Wren is my number one priority and her upbringing and safety are my top job 24 hours a day."

She also had a clear message for those who were calling out her behaviour on the app: "Do not mum-shame me because we have different parenting styles."

She concluded by saying she will continue to make video content with her daughter. She did however say she would be taking extra care to filter comments and remove the ability for users to download her content in order to protect her daughter. 

As of March 2024, comments on her videos are still turned off. 

But that doesn't stop the content from garnering millions of views, thousands of saves — and making lucrative revenue for Jacquelyn. 

Why are people talking about Wren Elearnor again?

Now, some two years later, this controversy is ramping up again. 

Just a few days ago, Bekah Day was one of several TikTok creators who released a video condemning Jacquelyn and her online behaviour. 

Bekah has become well known for calling out other creators and celebrities, taking a fine-tooth comb to the most talked about controversies.

@bekahdayyy Enough is enough. #wren #wrenandjacqueline #wreneleanor #trending #fyp #shocking #exposed #greenscreen ♬ Mysterious and sad BGM(1120058) - S and N

@bekahdayyy Can this child JUST be a child and not a prop? 💔 #wren #wrenandjacqueline #jacqueline #jackiepaul #trending #shocking #exposed #parenting #childsafety #wrenelenor ♬ Mysterious and sad BGM(1120058) - S and N

"Wren's mother is fully aware of the kind of viewership she is bringing in, the kind of people who are viewing her daughter online," Bekah claimed. 

"She is following fan pages for her daughter that repost pictures of her daughter." 

Creators are also accusing Jacquelyn of turning a blind eye to the troubling accounts that save her daughter's videos in order to continue monetising the content for her own gain. 

But despite the mounting campaign against her, Jacquelyn continues to share videos of her daughter taste testing drinks through straws and dressed in costumes. 

It has once again ignited a very important conversation around child safety online. 

When it comes to the legalities of monetising children online, legislation is yet to catch up to the fast moving nature of the digital world. In the US there are major pushes for child labour laws to extend to the online world but these bills are still making their way through congress.

In the meantime, parents need to make their own decision when it comes to sharing their children online. 

Because the risks may outweigh the rewards. 

Feature Image: TikTok/@wren.eleanor

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