More than 20 people jailed for cyberbulling 'queen of influencers' Magali Berdah in landmark court case

A court has sentenced 28 people to up to 18 months in prison for cyberbullying a social media star known as the “queen of influencers” in a landmark case.

The online bullies were all given jail terms of between four and 18 months – half of them suspended – for the online harassment of Magali Berdah over a two year period. The case is France's largest cyberbullying case to date.

Berdah, whose real name is Magali Liévois, is a 42-year-old French influencer who has built a prominent career herself as a lifestyle and fashion expert, but she also helps other other social media stars to build their own careers through her company, Shauna Events. She boasts two million Instagram followers and is a well-known TV personality, as well as a mum-of-three. The trolls, who are aged between 20 and 49, “knew about the cyberbullying suffered by the victim and made a conscious choice to join in with it”, the court found. Their actions had “real consequences” on Berdah’s mental health, the judges added.

The plaintiff had told the court, in Paris, that the bullying had such a negative impact on Berdah that she had come “within a whisker of throwing (herself) out the window”.

Speaking to local reporters after the case on Tuesday (March 19), Berdah said: "Finally, I’ve been recognised as a victim. My life was destroyed for two years because of this. It’s a beautiful victory," as reported in The Telegraph.

The convictions, which include fines of up to €700 (around £550), prove that “no one is safe behind their keyboard”, said Berdah’s lawyer David-Olivier Kaminski. The 28 bullies have also been ordered to pay a collective total of €54,000 (around £42,000) in compensation for the influencer. 

The court heard that Berdah was first targeted by French chart-topper controversial rapper Booba, who was not among those sentenced on Tuesday. The court found that the cyberbullying was a result of Booba’s posts, Berdah’s lawyers said in a statement. In 2022 Booba, who's real name is real name Élie Yaffa, launched a campaign against 'influ-voleurs' (meaning influ-thieves) - a term he coined because of his anger at social media stars like Berdah. According to The Telegraph, he told French newspaper 'Libération' that his anger came because he thought they were 'ripping people off'. He said: “Apart from having no talent, from promoting vacuous culture, of being idiots and not paying their taxes in France, they’re ripping people off."

He is alleged to have encouraged a "mob" of people online to send hateful and insulting messages to Berdah, who then filed a complaint for online harassment. Booba is accused of “at least 487 messages on social networks” aimed “directly” at Berdah between May 2022 and May 2023. He denies being at the helm of an online “mob”.

“Nothing can justify cyberbullying, especially not the behaviour of the person targeted,” said Rachel-Flore Pardo, another of Berdah’s lawyers.

Berdah herself is facing a separate trial in Nice in September for bankruptcy and money laundering. Her company is also being investigated for fraud. Last year, French MPs adopted new legislation, threatening influencers with up to two years in jail or major fines for undeclared advertising or fraud.

The law was an attempt to put an end to a stream of online scams in which influencers persuaded their followers to give up their savings for miracle cancer cures or other fake products. It obliges online stars to post the word “advertising” or “commercial partnership” when discussing products they have been paid to advertise and also prohibits the promotion of cosmetic surgery, tobacco and some financial products and medical devices.

The law also tightens rules for promoting sports betting and lottery games, which will be restricted to platforms that can prevent access to minors such as YouTube. Violators of the rules face punishments of up to two years in prison and €300,000 (around £240,000) fines.