Video of woman stalked by drone part of bizarre ‘drone hunting’ trend

Drones are being used to terrorise people in Sydney by “hunting” them for entertainment and social media fame.

The owner of an annoying drone is terrorising people in Sydney by following them around to post their frightened reactions on social media.

It’s part of a trend called “drone hunting” in which social media users post footage of their drone antics to entertain themselves and gain online notoriety.

One video posted to TikTok by a drone owner who goes by the account name “dronehunterr” shows footage of a woman wearing a red singlet and colourful skirt being chased by the drone.

The woman can be seen walking across a pedestrian crossing. Picture: Instagram

She looks back at the drone as she crosses the road again. Picture: Instagram

She first spots the drone before she comes down the stairs, and keeps looking back at the aircraft as she walks across a pedestrian crossing.

After noticing the drone was following her, she takes off and starts running along a footpath toward a bus stop as the drone chases after her.

The woman can then be seen pointing back at the camera while she talks to two men at the bus stop, who look at the aircraft.

The woman ran along a footpath away from the drone. Picture: Instagram

The footage has stirred controversy on social media. Picture: Instagram

The footage was reshaped to Instagram, where it quickly copped criticism, with one commenter saying it was “creepy” behaviour.

“This could have been done to literally anyone in the street, but they chose to ‘stalk’ the vulnerable in making it seem as though it’s an amusement park,” one wrote.

The “dronehunterr” account does not appear to be on TikTok anymore, but a search of the name does result in a of drone hunting videos appearing – including a number harassing people on the street.

The woman points back at the camera as she nears the bus stop. Picture: Instagram

Two men waiting at the bus stop look at what she is pointing at. Picture: Instagram

In 2022, an advocacy group in the US slammed called out the TikTok account “Bad2theDrone” – also known as “BumsnDrones” – for harassing homeless people in the state of Colorado.

The National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) called on the video app to act against the account’s “cruel” and “harmful” content.

Several videos show instances where the remote-controlled aircraft follows people sleeping rough, who often run away or throw objects at the flying camera.

NAEH chief executive officer Ann Olivia told Newsweek said to mock homeless people was to “dehumanise them and send a message that their suffering does not matter”.

“And this establishes a tolerance for cruel, violent, and coercive behaviour and policies towards them,” she told Newsweek.

“Harassment is not a form of entertainment, and social media platforms must commit to identifying and rooting out this kind of harmful content.”

Drones have also caused chaos in Australia, with some authorities raising concerns about drones being used to stalk and harass people – particularly those in or who have left dangerous or abusive relationships.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) says it receives about 3,000 complaints about drone activities, including stalking, each year.

Originally published as Video of woman stalked by drone part of bizarre ‘drone hunting’ trend