This work is relevant for Direct because utilizes social data targeting to drive a direct response from parents. Social platforms are very aware of the dangers they pose to young audiences, still, the data is mainly used for monetary gains. The Lethal Trend Warning System saves lives and raises the question: why aren't the global social media giants trying to solve these issues? it utilizes the same data yet it provides an impactful example of how to use it for good, also pushes for change by creating a tangible solution to help parents protect their children from lethal social trends.

Finland is a pioneer in information technology, with many companies bringing mobile innovations and fast internet connection as a part of the mainstream culture. Finns are proud of their role in developing these technologies, which has resulted in them becoming an integral part of Finnish culture. Due to this cultural impact, Finnish children are one of the youngest in the world to receive their first mobile phones and access to the internet. This also means that social media - with all the good and the dangers of it- comes into their lives at a very early age, making them extra vulnerable to potential dangers. This becomes apparent with the sad realization that in the past few years, multiple children have lost their lives while filming content and trying to attempt deadly social challenges.

Humans are social animals with an innate desire for attention. Social media effectively capitalizes on this need, which is why people love joining viral "challenges."

While some of these challenges are admittedly awesome and a fun way to be a part of something larger than yourself, many social media trends have proven to be dangerous or even deadly.

The Mannerheim League of Children Welfare is on a mission to ensure every child can have a happy and secure childhood, mentally and physically, so in order to fulfill this mission, the organization has set its sights on offering parents ways that help keep their children safe from potentially lethal social media trends.

The Lethal Trend Warning System is an algorithm-based service that identifies and alerts parents about locally emerging social challenges via WhatsApp before they become viral.

Parents can sign up for free, on desktop or mobile, with just one click.

No downloads nor registration is required, allowing parents to customize the warning range by geo-fencing their homes and their kids' schools.

The innovation lies simply in providing parents with never-before-seen visibility of the actions of children on social media. The data required to execute the idea already existed on social media channels, MLL just gathered the data and created an AI-driven algorithm with the capabilities to interpret and highlight potentially lethal trends. The algorithm scans millions of social data points per second in real time and performs numeric projections identifying harmful trends. The end result is a service with the capability of saving lives with the help of social media data.

DATA GATHERING: The initiative utilizes existing social data and curates it in a lifesaving way. Behind the execution lies an AI system designed to pinpoint keywords associated with dangerous trends, identifying potential threats. The data is gathered from Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat since these channels play and host the most trending “social challenges” and other popular content among young audiences.

APPROACH: The data is cross-referenced with location data which allows parents to view where, when, and which trends are emerging locally.

TARGETING: To promote the service we partnered with an "influencer" with first-hand experience on deadly social challenges. Niilo, a 17-year-old boy, passed away tragically while taking part in a challenge. With the cooperation of Niilo's parents, we utilised his social profiles to promote the service. By using the audience optimization options - available by default on all social platforms - we posted content targeting parents, invisible to children.

IMPLEMENTATION: The algorithm scans millions of social data points per second in real-time and performs numeric projections identifying harmful trends. The end result is a service with the capability of saving lives with the help of social media data.

TIMELINE:

Conceptualization: October 2023

Tech Development: December 2023 to February 2024

Implementation: February, March 2024

Launching (Creative/Social Campaign/PR): March 2024

MEDIA CHANNELS: The project counts with a digital hub where parents can sign up for the warning system for free, available on desktop and mobile. A social campaign powered by the profiles of a youngster who died attempting a deadly challenge served as a communication channel to target parents.

SCALE: Site visits 700k/average per month.

A petition demanding social media giants make their platforms safer for children has gathered over 6000 signatures.

The Ministry of Education of Finland is planning to adopt the platform and promote it to other European countries.

Site visits 700k on average per month.

15,7 Million Media Reach

8,011 Threats Identified and Warned

+300% Increase awareness

A petition demanding social media giants make their platforms safer for children has gathered over 6000 signatures.

The Ministry of Education of Finland is planning to adopt the platform and put it forward to other European countries.

Niilos story video: Organic on Instagram 180k views, over 3,000 likes,

Ad Reach 132k, 40k watched the video at least 15s (7.5k watched the whole video).

Social content: Organically seen on Instagram by over 80k +

paid reached +100k people, of which 28k watched the video for at least 15s. Increase Instagram followers by 11%.

Over 700,000 contacts were reached through pro bono influencers.

Social media data was at the heart of every aspect of the case, from the very execution of the service to the marketing of it.

The AI-powered system developed for the service was linked to the API’s of social platforms allowing the system to process and analyze the social media data. With key parameters set, such as certain keywords and hashtags, the AI system would identify potential threats and cross-reference them with location-based data.

The AI system is capable of processing millions of data points in real-time. To ensure fast and effective alerting of the parents before anything happens and after an identification of a threat, a message was sent via WhatsApp to the parents who had signed up for the service in the specific area.