This week has been an endless merry-go-round of internet controversies.
The loyal foot soldiers of Davido’s 30BG have been locked in fierce digital combat on Twitter (X) and Instagram, defending their idol, real name David Adeleke, after he posted a cryptic tweet: “Happy METAL.”
Meanwhile, gospel singer Mercy Chinwo sent shockwaves by following internet activist VeryDarkMan right after their messy internet and police drama, prompting him to shoot back with “excess love” and “get thee behind me.”
But let’s take a step away from the usual celebrity drama for a moment. What truly stole the spotlight this week (at least for me) wasn’t a famous singer or influencer scandal.
It was something far darker, a young mother on X (Twitter) casually filming herself feeding her toddler from a sachet of Action Bitters. According to her caption, it was “Every night just for her to sleep.”
Yes, you read that right. A toddler and Action Bitters, an alcoholic herbal drink.
What comes to mind when you watch such a video? The tiny child smacked her lips, sucking the sachet seconds after her mother had a sip herself?
Of course, most people’s first reaction was horror. And rightly so. Not just netizens, but even the police waded in almost immediately. They posted on their official Twitter handle:
“We are aware of this distressing video and are investigating urgently. Exposing a child to alcohol is illegal and dangerous. We urge any member of the public with valuable information that could lead to the swift apprehension of this ‘mother’ not to hesitate to provide the same. The child’s safety is our priority.”
The outrage was deafening, but it was also predictable. Because in this age of “anything for content,” nothing, and I mean nothing, seems too outrageous if it means grabbing a few thousand likes and going viral. But the story didn’t end there. Predictably, feeling the heat from the police, fellow parents, and an army of furious netizens, the woman came back looking slightly nervous but oddly casual.
She explained: “Please, don’t be offended. It’s about the video I posted last week, the Action Bitters video. That thing you saw is Coke. I just poured Coke inside. I can’t give her Action Bitters.
Doubling down, she added that she had a second video on her phone to “prove” it wasn’t alcohol, and insisted she wasn’t that kind of careless woman.
“Honestly, now people have been tagging me and dragging me up and down. Please don’t misunderstand. I poured Coke into the sachet, and I even washed the sachet before pouring it in… Please forgive me.”
And the video ended with a small laugh as if to say, “See? It’s not that serious.”
But really, let’s ask the uncomfortable question: why pretend to give your child alcohol? What purpose does it serve? Is it a comedy? Is it social commentary? Or is it just a quick and dirty ticket to trending? And it’s not new: we’ve seen people fake kidnappings, pretend illnesses, record themselves mocking the dead, or stage elaborate hoaxes, all for a handful of likes and retweets.
But involving a baby? That’s a new low. Even if, as she later claimed, it was just Coke inside that sachet, the question remains: why? Why risk sending such a dangerous, twisted message just to “create content”?
Some people blamed poverty, and others blamed “the youths of today.” But let’s be honest: this isn’t about being poor, young, or uneducated. It’s about a deeper hunger, to be seen, to be famous, even if only for a day. The internet offers a tantalising promise: go viral once, and your life might change forever. But at what cost?
Beyond the personal shame and public backlash, there is something more corrosive here: the erosion of boundaries. There was a time, not that long ago, when certain things were sacred. Children, especially, were off-limits. You didn’t bring them into adult matters, let alone pretend to poison them, just to get numbers on a video.
And now, as viewers, we’re forced to witness this slow decline. Because when everything becomes content, nothing is precious anymore.
To the content creators out there: yes, you have the freedom to film, post, and entertain. But with that freedom comes responsibility. If the only way you can catch the public’s eye is by faking a crime against your child, maybe it’s time to pause and ask yourself why.
No amount of likes or retweets can wash away the damage done to your reputation, or worse, the damage to the trust and safety of the little ones who look up to you.
It’s easy to say, “It was just Coke.” It’s harder to live with the reality that you made your child the prop in your desperate race to notoriety.
We need more than views and viral moments. We need caution, conscience, and the humility to know when to put the camera down. Because not everything belongs online, and not every “content” is worth creating.
