A Bay Area mom influencer is denying faking her story that her kids were targets of an "attempted kidnapping" for viral Instagram videos.
On December 7th, Katie Sorensen reported to the Petaluma Police Department that a suspicious couple had followed her and her kids in a Michael's store. Days later, she posted videos to her mom influencer Instagram account claiming that two of her children were 'targets of attempted kidnapping.'
Petaluma Police then released an updated statement saying there were 'inconsistencies' between her report to them and the story on Instagram. They detailed they were not accusing her of faking the story and would continue with the investigation to determine what happened. Police also released a photo of two persons of interest they wish to speak to.
Since then, social media has questioned the validity of Sorenson's story questioning if she fabricated the story for followers. Sorenson has since denied faking the incident and stated her motivation for posting the videos was to bring awareness for other parents.
Since the videos were posted online, Sorencson's @motherhoodessentials account gained more than 70,000 followers after the posts, which have since been viewed more than two million times.