UCD inquiry finds ‘no evidence’ of explicit image sharing

An investigation by University College Dublin has found “no evidence” of an alleged Facebook group in which male students were reportedly sharing explicit images of women with whom they had sexual relations.

In a statement, UCD said its investigation did not uphold the allegations in the College Tribune newspaper of an inappropriate Facebook groupchat in operation.

The student newspaper reported that up to 200 students were members of a private Facebook group used to share stories about and rate photos of young women.

Last week UCD said it launched an investigation into the alleged behaviour.

The college said breaches of the student code could result in sanctions up to and including expulsion from university.

The private Facebook chat group that allegedly shared the images came to the College Tribune's attention through messaging app Yik Yak.

Yik Yak’s main feature is allowing people to send short messages known as “yaks” anonymously to people in the same area.

The app uses geo-location tools to limit user interactions to others within a small radius, making it popular on college campuses.

The story came to international attention, featuring on the BBC news website among others. Twitter users shared their thoughts on the alleged group with the hashtag #UCD200.

The article was based on one person’s “understanding” of what was said to be taking place in the group, while there has been no first-hand evidence of its activities.

UCD carried out the investigation into the circumstances and veracity of the report and said following this investigation, the specific allegations made in the article were not upheld.

The chair of the investigation, Professor Mark Rogers, Deputy President and Registrar said “Although this investigation is concluded, I am not so naïve as to believe that the university community is immune to this type of activity.

“I have reminded all students that if any of them has been affected by the inappropriate sharing of private information on social media, the student advisors and wider university support services are available to them,” said Professor Rogers.

The investigation took internal and external expert advice in relation to the possible tracing of relevant online activity and the potential for finding the existence of, and the contents within, any discussion forums that may be operating within the remit of the university.

The investigation sought, initially through the Dean of Agriculture, information on a confidential basis from students of the School of Agriculture and Food Science, and through social media from the entire student body of approximately 27,000.

The investigation also interviewed 28 individuals and went through a large amount of online and other documentation.

The investigation found the evidence cited in the article was based on hearsay from anonymous comments on Yik Yak by a quoted source to the College Tribune.

It further found that the editor and reporter of the article were aware that the source quoted in the article was basing her information on hearsay and the claims in the article have been investigated and have been found to be unsubstantiated.

UCD said the investigation sought but did not find any student has come forward in recent weeks seeking support for this or any related incident from the regular or other University Services.

It said the investigation found no evidence of the existence of such a group where UCD students were posting nude photographs of female students and then rating them and were unable to find any student or other individual who had any first hand sightings of these specific postings.

Professor Rogers said: “At a societal level, we are all aware of the way social media has amplified inappropriate behaviour, particularly where there is inadequate monitoring by group administrators or where sources can be anonymous. Studies are showing the negative impact of such behaviour on students’ well-being.”

The investigation recommends that any student or member of the University community who comes across illicit and/or explicit material on University-related sites should immediately bring this to the attention of the University authorities through the Student Advisers or other staff or faculty.

The investigation also recommends the College Tribune publish an online clarification that there was no first hand evidence for the allegations and that the report was entirely based on anonymous hearsay on Yik Yak.