Celebs say this gossip forum ruined their lives. Now its owner has been unmasked

Celebrities and influencers have been shocked to learn a controversial gossip website accused of allowing stalking, harassment, doxing and "relentless trolling" towards them was being run by a 41-year-old vegan influencer called Sebastian Bond.

While some public figures are used to dealing with online abuse and anonymous trolling, many, including glamour model Katie Price, say Tattle Life goes too far and is "the absolute worst platform for trolling".

Set up in 2017, Tattle Life describes itself as a "commentary website on public business social media accounts" and its founder has operated anonymously - until recently.

Following a landmark defamation and harassment case in Northern Ireland, the elusive founder of the website was revealed.

Influencer Jen Graham agrees, suggesting people should have to verify their identity by uploading a document such as a driving licence or taking a picture of themselves.

"That way it's traceable and someone can't hide behind a secret identity," she says, "and if they're cruel then they're punished."

Graham says that discovering a thread about herself on Tattle Life "massively sent me under".

"It wiped me out for a month and affected how I made my content as I was really anxious about posting."

The Centre for Countering Digital Hate says the website has been "monetising cruelty" for years through Google ads.

A spokesperson for Google said: "We don't allow sites to engage in disruptive ad serving practices. After reviewing the site in question, we have restricted ads in accordance with our publisher policies."

It added that when it restricts ads a site will have little to no buyer demand.

Responsibilities on platforms to tackle illegal content and activity under the Online Safety Act came into force in March, and Ofcom says it is currently assessing platforms' compliance with these new duties.

It has launched investigations into 13 different platforms of which Tattle Life is not one, but the regulator expects "to make further enforcement announcements in the coming months".

It added: "those who fail to introduce appropriate measures to protect UK users from illegal content should expect to face enforcement action."