A REAL-life Gossip Girl was arrested for “blackmailing an entire city” after she allegedly told lies about locals before demanding cash to delete them.
Anielly Sousa Silva, 21, peddled shocking claims on social media – accusing others of cheating, being pregnant and mistreating disabled children, police say.
The Brazilian used social media to encourage residents living in Conceição de Alagoas to spread unverified information about neighbours and colleagues.
She published the baseless claims online – before they were viewed by millions of people.
The posts reportedly included allegations of adultery, pregnancy, sexual orientation, and in some cases, violence.
Police said she “never stopped posting” and sought to “destroy” people with gossip.
Occasionally, alleged victim’s names were directly exposed, globo.com reported.
In one particularly shocking instance, a mum claimed her daughter was targeted and then bulled at school as a result of the online allegations.
The heartbroken parent claimed her child then developed depression.
A local charity was also hit by sensational false claims.
Silva is said to have published accusations the organisation mistreated a disabled child.
Spokespeople for the home claimed that raffle ticket sales for fundraising plummeted dramatically following the posts.
Aside from the defamation, cops also say that Silva extorted money from victims – charging between £25 and £70 to delete posts.
Following a string of extraordinary allegations made by Silva, she was eventually reported to authorities, before cops began to probe her.
She was arrested shortly after the investigation.
Footage showed the suspect being hauled into the back of a police vehicle before being driven away.
Cops said they had obtained video and audio evidence of the woman promising to delete online posts if she was paid.
Her profile was deactivated following the arrest.
Silva is expected to be indicted for extortion, a crime that can carry a sentence of up to ten years in prison.
But the investigation into the woman’s alleged crimes is still ongoing.
