A new documentary now streaming on Netflix examines the downfall of an influencer empire. Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Storywas added to the platform today (December 30).

According to its brief synopsis, the feature documentary unravels the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.

The pair met within their church community in Utah and it didn't take long for them to spark a friendship. Pretty soon, they even decided to go into business together. Franke was already known for her online presence, regularly sharing videos online about her family life on the YouTube channel called 8 Passengers.

Both her and Hildebrandt, who founded the life-coaching company ConneXions, were powerful voices within the Mormon church.

Netflix's new film traces Hildebrandt's unimpeded rise within her community, the events that led to the heartbreaking discovery of abuse, the part she played in the Franke family and the eventual rescue of the Franke children from Hildebrandt's Utah home.

Franke created her YouTube channel back in 2015 and as of June 2020, the channel had around 2.5 million subscribers. She already courted concern and criticism by documenting the different ways she chose to punish her children for their behavour.

She allegedly banned one son from his bedroom for months, forcing him to sleep on a bean bag. She also once told her children that Santa would not be visiting that year and threatened to destroy their toys.

Her channel was suspended in 2022 and she began working as a mental health coach at Hildebrandt's ConneXions. They set up a social media venture together, offering parenting classes.

Hildebrandt became a constant presence in Ruby's life. But the religious influencer's focus on "fixing" the vlogger's family led to a shocking case of child abuse being uncovered.

As seen in the beginning of the doc, a young boy approaches a house and asks the people living there for food and water. He also requests to be taken to the police.

Immediately concerned about his wellbeing, it isn't long before they noticed he appeared emaciated and had deep lacerations from being tied up with rope. Authorities later discovered he had escaped from Hildebrandt's home where his sister was also being kept.

When they searched the home, police found rope, handcuffs, and a bowl of cayenne pepper paste they believe was used to 'treat' the boy's wounds.

Franke documented details of the abuse her children suffered in diaries. She wrote often of punishing her kids because she believed they were "possessed" by the devil and displayed signs of "satanic chaos".

Both Jodi Hildebrandt and Ruby Franke pleaded guilty to, and were convicted of, four counts of aggravated child abuse. They received the same sentence of four consecutive terms of one to 15 years.

They are both serving their time at Utah State Correctional Facility in Salt Lake City. Ruby's first parole hearing is set for December 2026.

In the documentary, audio recordings from prison illustrate that Ruby had begun to distance herself from Hildebrandt. The film's director Skye Borgman doesn't have concrete confirmation if that separation has lasted but she suspects it has.

She told the website Tudum: "I think this separation helps Ruby recognise where she was and what Jodi was doing. I also think it's a form of self-preservation. She's looking at the potential time that she could be spending in prison. I think that she's kind of going, 'Wait a minute, if I separate myself, maybe I won't get judged as harshly.'"

Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story is on Netflix now. For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new Everything Gossip website