Overview

The Harris Family Child Abuse Allegations Controversy refers to a series of accusations made against Australian influencer Allanah Harris, who runs the Harris Family TikTok account @the.harris.familyy with her husband Brock Harris, which accused her of intentionally hospitalizing her baby daughter Daisy for attention. Daisy was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2024. It was then revealed in November 2024 that Australian authorities were investigating a "high profile" family for premeditated child abuse that caused the hospitalization of their kid. Internet users believed it was the Harris Family because Brock Harris allegedly posted a Snapchat story addressing the allegations in which he accused his wife of poisoning Daisy and stated that he was not aware of his wife's actions. The Harris Family account was also deactivated shortly after the accusations broke. The Harris Family had amassed over 1 million followers on TikTok by that time. Their following and virality were gained from their viral videos documenting the lives of their children and family. Much of their content was centered on their children's illnesses, such as content about their first child passing away from a stillborn pregnancy. After the 2024 allegations, many internet users viewed their prior content and the death of their first daughter skeptically. The case was related to Munchausen syndrome by proxy (infamously related to Gypsy Rose Blanchard's story) and factitious disorder imposed on another (FDIA).

Background

On November 18th, 2024, TikToker^[1] @kirstyderbyyy posted a video in which she was green-screened in front of a then-recent Snapchat story allegedly posted by Brock Harris, the father of the Harris Family TikTok page. Her video received over 247,600 plays and 3,000 likes in a day.

Later on November 18th, Redditor^[2] Slow-Artichoke-69 shared a post to the subreddit /r/DoWeKnowThemPodcast that outlined allegations made against Allanah Harris by her husband Brock, including the full Snapchat story that @kirstyderbyyy was green-screened in front of (shown below).

In the alleged Snapchat story, Brock accused his wife of poisoning their baby daughter Daisy, causing her brain tumor and other illnesses. The story alleged that the four Harris children had been taken into child protective services and that Allanah was under investigation by the Australian police. The story also stated that Brock was unaware of the child abuse and that it was entirely Allanah's doing.

On November 18th, 2024, a TikTok^[3] account called @theharrisfamilytruth posted a photo slideshow that included the alleged Snapchat story of Brock Harris.

TikToker @theharrisfamilytruth posted multiple videos and slideshows on November 18th that furthered the accusations against Allanah Harris. For instance, the admin posted a TikTok^[4] that reposted a video from Harris in which it seemed like she was fake crying according to the TikToker, gaining over 633,500 plays and 12,200 likes in a day (shown below).

Sometime on or before November 19th, 2024, the Harris Family deactivated their TikTok^[9] account @the.harris.familyy.

News Coverage

On November 19th, 2024, the Daily Telegraph^[5] published an article titled, "High profile Queensland woman investigated over claims she was drugging her child," concerning parents (who could not be named for legal reasons based on the young age of their children involved) who were under investigation after hospital staff alerted authorities. The Daily Telegraph also received a quote from the unnamed father who said that he was unaware of the drugging allegedly occurring.^[5]

Later on November 19th, the Daily Mail^[6] published an article on the same unnamed "high profile" family. However, the Daily Mail directly referenced the Snapchat story allegedly posted by Brock Harris in which he called his wife a "monster." The Daily Mail also referenced a GoFundMe created by the unnamed Australian family.

TikToker^[7] @theharrisfamilytruth posted screenshots of the Daily Telegraph's article in a photo slideshow on November 19th, 2024, gaining over 133,900 plays and 2,400 likes in less than a day.

Online Reactions

In the following days, TikTokers reacted to the child abuse allegations levied against Allanah Harris. For instance, on November 18th, 2024, TikToker^[8] @clipz9560 reposted an old Harris Family TikTok in which Allanah Harris is talking about how much she and her family's lives have changed following Dasiy's brain tumor diagnosis while she's putting on makeup. TikToker @clipz9560 wrote in text overlay, "Yeah, this doesn't sit right with me," concerning Harris' seemingly jolly tone. The video received over 2.5 million plays and 78,600 likes in a day (shown below).

Also on November 18th, TikToker^[10] @reneebarendregt reacted to the allegations against Allanah Harris, gaining over 2.5 million plays and 96,500 likes in a day (shown below).

On November 18th, 2024, Redditor^[11] Wonderful_Piglet3773 posted to /r/tiktokgossip, comparing the story to the Gypsy Rose Blanchard story who was the victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, also known as factitious disorder imposed on another (FDIA), inflicted upon her by her mother.

Various Reactions

Search Interest

External References