Nicola Bulley: Facebook account wiped as Lancashire Police examine missing mum-of-two's social media accounts

Police have taken control of Nicola’s social media accounts, after announcing at the press conference on Feb 15 that there is ‘further work’ that needed to be done.

What did police say about Nicola’s social media?

Speaking to press at Lancashire Police HQ, Senior Investigating Officer Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith revealed that officers would be taking control of the missing woman’s device, and urged the public not to be alarmed if changes appear to her facebook profile.

Yesterday, police were doing ‘further work’ on Nicola’s phone and social media accounts.

The senior officer explained that 'digital enquiries' might cause Nicola to appear online, and said the family were aware of this.

DS Smith asked people not to call in to police if and when it does.

She said: “I want to make this really clear, we have control of this phone.

“This will be the police that is doing these enquiries and nobody needs to be concerned or contact the incident room about this."

Is Nicola Bulley’s account set to private?

Nicola’s facebook account now appears with just a single photograph, with comments hidden and disabled.

Previously, her page was filled with photos posted by the mum-of-two of her children, family holidays and her dog walks, all open for anyone to view and comment on.

This had led to members of the public posting ‘intrusive’ and ‘inappropriate’ comments on her page, including posts speculating about what has happened to her.

Strangers could also see what groups she belonged to, leading to members of the public ‘snooping’ and discussing whether health-related groups she had been posting in could be linked to her disappearance.

How else has social media been harmful to the investigation?

The police chief condemned the many armchair detectives, TikTokers and keyboard warriors, saying they have ‘significantly distracted’ the investigation.

At the conference, DS Smith said: “In 29 years of policing I have never seen anything like it. Some of it has been shocking and really hurtful to the family.”

Problems on social media have been wide-ranging, from online trolls posting hurtful comments aimed at people closest to Nicola, to urban explorers visiting the St Michaels to make TikTok videos.

It has also led to many social media groups being set up to promote conspiracy theories and encourage people to take the law into their own hands.

Call for social media giants to take responsibility

Now, both Labour and Conservative politicians have said it provides further evidence that social media companies need to take more responsibility for content, and are calling for the Government to strengthen the Online Safety Bill.

Labour’s shadow Minister for Tech, Gambling, and the Digital Economy, Alex Davies-Jones, told i news: “Social media platforms have huge power to spread and promote misinformation and conspiracy theories, with outlandish claims quickly going viral and being seen by millions of people in a way that would be impossible in the offline world. These can cause serious harms, as we’ve seen in the case of Nicola Bulley. We urgently need to tackle the power of social media platforms, and the harm they cause to society, our economy and public health.”