Debbie Duncan, mother of 19-year-old Jay Slater, who disappeared while on holiday in Tenerife, has tirelessly fought against an online phenomena known as ‘tragedy trolling’
Jay Slater’s mum Debbie Duncan has thanked The Mirror for getting a YouTube troll removed from the platform for spreading cruel lies relating to her son’s death. But, within hours of the perpetrator being silenced, they began spreading vile abuse on TikTok and inciting others to join them in an onslaught against her.
Debbie, 57 of Oswaldtwistle, Lancs., tells The Mirror: “It’s like organised crime. It’s exhausting. I laugh sometimes – some of it is so ridiculous. But it hurts. They judge me on my parenting skills, saying ‘he [Jay] must have had a really bad upbringing’.”
Yesterday Debbie, mother of 19-year-old Jay, whose disappearance and death in Tenerife in 2024 sparked more than 300 million social media videos from tragedy trolls, told how the stress drove her to a nervous breakdown.
Supporting The Mirror’s Missed campaign highlighting forgotten, unsolved, or underreported cases of lost loved ones and charity Missing People’s call to end tragedy trolling, she also spoke about her Jay’s Law petition. It calls for specific legislation obliging platforms to remove organised misinformation that targets grieving families after tragic deaths.
READ MORE: Jay Slater’s mum reveals disturbing aftermath of son’s tragic holiday death
Brave Debbie, whose son Jay died after a catastrophic fall following a night out, insists the removal of the troll from YouTube still gives her hope. Also mum to Zak, 26, she says: “It proves that it can be done. I’ve done all sorts to have videos taken off, but nothing has happened. This gives me hope that the media companies can, if pushed, do something.”
Debbie, who has had a positive response from the government to her petition and will be going to Parliament in the next few months, needs 100,000 signatures before it will be debated in the House. Meanwhile, the latest round of tragedy trolling – defined as cyberbullying, in which perpetrators post abusive, mocking or sensationalised content, or spread misinformation, accusations and theories about missing people online – targeting her proliferates.
On Friday morning, one troll’s social media post said ‘not this again. She’ll be on I’m A Celebrity next’. Another accused her of profiting from her son’s death and a third called it ‘peak entertainment.’ But Debbie believes right minded people are in the mood to listen to her. This week Sir Keir Starmer told The Mirror: “Families whose loved ones are missing are living through unimaginable pain, and the vile online abuse some of them face is completely unacceptable.
“We expect every social media company to follow UK law and stamp out this behaviour.” And Debbie says: “Social media is in the spotlight. You have the ban for under 16s, phone free education, Missing People’s campaign to combat tragedy trolling, and my petition for Jay’s Law. It’s the right time to bring things up. Jay would be 21 on April 26, and we remember him every day and hope to make him proud.”
*Sign Debbie’s petition at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/742843
Missing People’s Demands
Missing People represents the 170,000 people who go missing in the UK every year.
The charity is calling on content creators to sign a pledge on their website, which says: “I pledge to support Missing People & Responsible Narratives in treating real stories with real respect.”
They are demanding people:
- Avoid speculation or sharing unverified claims
- Treat real stories with respect and remember there is a real person at the centre
- Reject AI‑generated or misleading images and audio
- Think about the family who may read your words
- Choose empathy over entertainment
- Once a person is found, respect their privacy by removing any content you might have shared
*Sign the pledge at https://www.missingpeople.org.uk/based-on-a-true-story
*The Mirror contacted YouTube, Meta and Tiktok for comment. In response, YouTube said: “Harassment and hate speech are strictly prohibited on YouTube and when we find content that violates our policies, we take action”. According to TikTok, the platform does not allow misinformation that could cause significant harm to individuals or society, no matter the intent of the person posting it, per its Community Guidelines. This includes hoaxes, misleading AIGC, and harmful conspiracy theories. TikTok also encourages its community to treat everyone with kindness and respect.
READ MORE: Keir Starmer slams ‘vile online abuse’ and backs Mirror Missed campaign