Known as “The Squad,” the group of child influencers who surrounded the charismatic social media phenomenon Piper Rockelle formed a sprawling, ever-changing web. Curated by Piper’s momager Tiffany Smith as her daughter’s supporting cast, The Squad was a rotating ensemble of young content creators who collaborated on videos. Beginning in 2018, these viral, money-making videos featured a series of orchestrated relationships that blurred the lines between real-life friendships and calculated crushes alike — and if one tween left The Squad, a dozen more aspiring kidfluencers were always eager to step in and attach themselves to Piper’s rising star. When Gavin Magnus’ mother yanked him out, Walker Bryant was on deck as Piper’s next blond, blue-eyed crush; after Walker, towhead Lev Cameron. Friends came and went, too. But as the docuseries Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencingreveals, the group’s shifting dynamic was the symptom of a disturbing...