Todd's suicide received widespread international media coverage, much of which included a link to Todd's YouTube video and an e-mail address provided by the RCMP appealing for information from the public. Within twenty-four hours of the appeal, over 400 tips were received.[12] The RCMP has stated that its investigation was hindered by the amount of false information in online postings after Todd's death, and scams claiming to raise money for her family.[31]
On October 19, 2012, a series of vigils was held across Canada and internationally to remember Todd and other victims of bullying.[32] A minute of silence was observed by a quarter of a million students in the Toronto District School Board district.[33] On that same date, Todd's mother was a guest of the 2012 We Day event in Vancouver, a week after Todd's death. Bullying had been scheduled as a topic prior to Todd's death and was addressed by speakers Magic Johnson, musician and anti-bullying advocate Demi Lovato and British Columbia Premier Christy Clark.[34]
Initially, Amanda Todd's mother was denied entry to an anti-bullying conference for fear that it would upset other attendees.[35] The family was invited to attend later events.[36]
On November 18, 2012, 600 people gathered at a final farewell ceremony for Todd at Red Robinson Show Theatre in Coquitlam, near her home. Todd's mother Carol told the gathering that her daughter has left behind "a larger-than-life message that has sparked the world and has made it open its eyes, its ears and its hearts".[37]
Internet hacking and activist group Anonymous alleged that a 32-year-old man was Todd's blackmailer and main tormentor. The group published the Vancouver-area man's name and address on the Internet, resulting in the man's receipt of online threats of vigilante justice.[26] After investigating the tip, police determined that the allegations were unfounded, and said that "false information that is being spread by people who appear to be trying to use Amanda's story to do harm or make a profit" was one of the challenges they faced.[38]
According to an interview with the Vancouver Sun, the publication of his identity on social media sites resulted in over fifty e-mails and "thousands" of Facebook death threats.[38] A member of Anonymous had attempted to dissuade the group from publishing the information, saying that they had the right person, but that the address being published belonged to someone else, not the target. Slate reported that the person who was actually responsible turned out to be 19 rather than 32.[39][40]
Social media
Following Todd's suicide, more than one million Facebook users "liked" her Facebook memorial page.[12][41] Mingled among the positive support and comments are continuing attack posts and images from strangers and those claiming to be her former classmates.[12] After one man's derogatory Facebook comments about Todd's death were reported to his employer, the Grafton-Fraser Mr. Big & Tall clothing chain confirmed that he was no longer an employee.[42][43]
On October 19, 2012, police in New Zealand said they were questioning a 17-year-old boy from Raglan who allegedly posted "inappropriate and disturbing images" on a memorial page for Todd. Police removed the images and shut down the boy's Facebook page.[44]
Amanda Todd Trust
Todd's mother Carol has established the Amanda Todd Trust at the Royal Bank of Canada, receiving donations to support anti-bullying awareness education and programs for young people with mental health problems.[45] A week after Todd's death, ABC News reported that fraudulent websites had been set up claiming to solicit donations, quoting a statement by Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Peter Thiessen: "Taking advantage of a family's grief is despicable... We want to get the word out that there is one real account and anyone who is interested can make a donation at any RBC branch to the Amanda Todd Trust Account."[46]
Parliamentary motion
In response to the death of Todd, a motion was introduced in the Canadian House of Commons by member of parliament Dany Morin of the New Democratic Party. The motion proposed a study of the scope of bullying in Canada, and for more funding and support for anti-bullying organizations. It was also intended to lay the groundwork for a national strategy to prevent bullying. Morin had also experienced bullying while in school.[47]
A teenager posted a heartbreaking video on YouTube chronicling years of bullying in school and online, cutting and humiliation up until she died this week.
Amanda Todd, 15, posted the video called "My story: Struggling, bullying, suicide, self harm" on Sept. 7 and was found dead in her home town of Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, just over a month later.
"Hello, I've decided to tell you about my never ending story," the black and white video begins. Todd can only be seen from her nose down for most of the video, occasionally moving around so that her face is visible. She silently tells her story through a series of white cards with black marker writing on them.
She describes using webcam chats to meet and talk to new people online as a seventh grade student. She said that people told her she was "stunning, beautiful, perfect" and a man pressured her to flash her chest. One year later, she did.
Todd received a Facebook message from a man she did not know saying that if she did not "put on a show" for him, he would send the photo of her chest to everyone. Over Christmas break, Todd said police came to her house at 4 a.m. to tell her that the photo had been sent to everyone.
"I then got really sick and got anxiety, major depression and panic disorders," she wrote. "I then moved and got into drugs and alcohol."
A year after moving, Todd said things were going better until the man on Facebook came back and used the photo of her chest as his profile picture. Todd said she "cried every night, lost all my friends and respect people had for me again."
"I can never get that photo back," she wrote. "It's out there forever."
She described being called names, eating lunch alone and resorting to cutting herself. She also told the story of an incident where she made a "huge mistake" and "hooked up" with a boy at her school who had a girlfriend, but who she believed really liked her.
A week later, she said she received a text message telling her to get out of school and then a group of students, led by the boy's girlfriend, surrounded her at school and said, "Look around, nobody likes you."
"A guy then yelled, 'Just punch her already,' so [the girlfriend] did," Todd wrote. "She threw me to the ground and punched me several times. Kids filmed it. I was all alone and left on the ground."
Todd said she "wanted to die so bad" when her dad found her in a ditch. She drank bleach when she went home and had to be rushed to the hospital to have her stomach pumped, she said.
"After I got home, all I saw was on Facebook—'She deserved it. Did you wash the mud out of your hair? I hope she's dead,'" she wrote.
Todd moved to another school in another city, but said the torture followed her through Facebook. Students posted photos of ditches and suggested she try another bleach.
"Every day, I think, why am I still here?" she asked towards the end of the video. "I'm stuck. What's left of me now? Nothing stops. I have nobody. I need someone. My name is Amanda Todd."
Authorities were called to a residence in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, just before 6 p.m. on Oct. 10 to investigate the sudden death of the tormented teenager.
While authorities have not officially called the death a suicide, Cpl. Jamie Chung of the Coquitlam Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement, "At this time it has been determined that the teen's death was not suspicious in nature and that foul play was not a factor."
The coroner is investigating the death, police said.
