Can I Tell You A Secret?

Apple Podcasts, Spotify

It always started the same: a message sent to a young woman on social media beginning “Hey hun, can I tell you a secret?”

But conversation quickly spiralled, revealing personal details and secrets about the woman or horrible claims, like her partner was cheating on her. Some women were bombarded with messages, sometimes 50 in a day, anonymous phone calls, and even had their identities stolen to create fake profiles, with their “fake selves” spreading vicious rumours to their family and friends.

Starting in 2009, countless young women in Northwich, Cheshire, and later across the UK, were victim to a relentless online stalking campaign that destroyed relationships and careers, and shattered victims’ mental health and lives.

The man behind it all, Matthew Hardy, became notorious for hounding women online but, despite being arrested 10 times, he escaped jail-time and continued re-offending.

In her podcast, Guardian journalist Sirin Kale (above) examines one of the UK’s most extreme cases of online stalking and harassment, how a police investigation driven by PC Kevin Anderson of Cheshire constabulary finally brought Hardy to justice earlier this year – and why it took so long.

Kale’s investigation is considered and thorough. She shares powerful testimonies from Hardy’s victims, many of whom said they weren’t taken seriously by police. Her interview with Hardy’s mother, who grapples with how her son’s behaviour was linked to his autism and isolation, is a difficult listen.

Yet, with cyber stalking on the rise, this is an engrossing podcast that vitally highlights the seriousness of a crime that causes lasting, untold trauma.