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Ariel Winter Goes Undercover as Preteen to Expose Online Predators

She joined SOSA’s YouTube sting operation to underscore the widespread threat of online predators

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Overview

  • As part of the SOSA Undercover YouTube series, Winter posed as a 12-year-old in Oklahoma City to lure sexual predators.
  • She called the role frightening yet validating, saying it enabled law enforcement to identify men seeking to exploit minors.
  • The actress said her own experiences with online grooming and body-shaming drove her participation in the sting.
  • Winter was alarmed by the volume of men contacting an underage profile, estimating hundreds of thousands of attempts.
  • She described the operation as cathartic, hoping the documentary will bolster efforts to prosecute abusers.