The string of disturbing Facebook-owned Instagram accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers can make cash from posting adverts alongside the sick video clips.
Yobs record footage attacking vulnerable people or humiliating them on camera before posting the footage online in a bid to send it viral.
The social media accounts – usually set as private to avoid detection – trade on the cruel clips in which they often refer to the victims as "nitties" – Jamaican slang for someone who overuses drugs.
Our probe comes as footage posted on social media last week showed thugs spray painting a homeless man in the street – before he was found dead in a graveyard just days later.
Vulnerable Michael Cash was sprayed with red paint outside a Tesco Express in Normanby, Teeside, and filmed by a yob boasting: "This is how we deal with the beggars on the street."
The Sun Online even confronted 30-year-old decorator Aaron Jones, who filmed the aftermath of the attack, as he claimed he now needed police protection.
The latest research on attacks on rough sleepers found they were 17 times more likely to be victims of violence and 15 times more likely to have suffered verbal abuse than the general public.
We found a string of Instagram accounts posting videos of vulnerable people being abused for profit or the entertainment of social media users.
Homeless campaigners have once again called for an end to the violence against vulnerable people as well as the spread of video material online following The Sun's probe.
We found one account called UKDrillings, run by an anonymous user and boasting more than 73,000 followers, which posted a sickening clip of a young thug fly-kicking vulnerable people in the back.
The attacker is seen stalking up behind a man shuffling along the street before cruelly kicking him to the floor in a clip posted earlier this month.
A second man is then filmed on the same street being fly-kicked to the ground by the yob – who walks away laughing.
A comment posted by the account alongside the clip, which has had 25,000 views, said: "So this kid went around Town finding homeless people so he could fly kick them…IF YOU LAUGH UR GOING TO HELL".
One followers posted a message saying "why is this funny" followed by eight emoticons with a crying laughter face.
Another said "this is the best video i’ve ever seen" with four crying laughter emoticons.
A second clip posted last week on the private AllBants Instagram page, which has more than 35,000 followers, shows a man with a northern accent assaulting another vulnerable man.
The thug records himself abusing the man saying "come over here and watch me f*** you up!" before repeating "come here and watch me f*** you up, fam!"
He then appears to punch the man to the ground and then pushes his head back to the floor as the groggy victim says "nice".
The attacker finished by saying: "You think you're sick yeah, you little f***".
The video, which has been viewed more than 12,000 times on the page, is tagged with the words "Nitty Gets Slumped And Says Nice".
Other private Instagram accounts which share similar material such as SoutheastLondon1 and UKhoodissues – boasting around 77,000 followers – have also posted the same video.
Some comments on the pages complained that the thug had attacked an "old" man and was a "bully" while others joked "bet that nits got an head ache (sic)."
One gloated: "He needed some type of Hit".
The Sun understands one teen in control of the SouthEastLondon1 account is a 17-year-old from Rainham, Essex, but we have chosen to mask his picture.
Another account called Nittyhub is dedicated to humiliating the homeless and drug users with more than 30,000 followers on Instagram.
The shocking profile, which has several back-up accounts in case it is shut down, has posted a stream of videos mocking the vulnerable.
In one clip a man who appears to have learning difficulties is mocked on camera and asked to say the words "nitty hub" while onlookers laugh at his inability to say the words correctly.
The account administrator then urged others to "Tag a friend who speaks like this".
But other account followers criticised the video which has more than 9,000 views with one saying: "Not in fact a nitty. Just picking on people that are differently able now. That's weak."
Another added: "That guys obviously autistic. Thats pretty sad tbh. Fair play rammin a camera in a junkie crackheads face but he obviously disabled. People laughing at this are sad (sic)."
The Nitty Hub account has also posted a string of videos in which vulnerable homeless people are humiliated by performing on camera – often in return for cash or drugs.
Some drug users are repeatedly featured on the account being made to perform songs or dances for the video clips.
One dishevelled man who has bushy grey hair and appears to be drunk had a video posted of himself on the account in July.
A can of beer is taken away from the man before he is urged to "do your dance" for the camera.
He then begins to dance and throw mock punches after being told to emulate the boxer Anthony Joshua.
Another man is filmed and berated on the street for picking up a cigarette butt on the StreetsblogsTv.
The clearly vulnerable man is seen kneeling on the floor to pick up the cigarette end before he is told to drop it which he does and apologises, saying "sorry, man".
The man is then asked if he goes out "looking for spliffs on the floor" and he replies: "Yeah, I do, yeah."
The account operator attempted to make the video go viral by asking viewers to tag "someone who smokes spliffs from the floor".
Several of the accounts feature adverts linking to other profiles which include currency trading, seemingly bogus recruitment firms, Amazon discounts and a car insurance scam.
Others include adverts for bitcoin washing schemes where it is claimed money is transferred into your account leaving you with a percentage before it is moved out again.
We contacted one advert on the Ukhoodpoliticss account offering car insurance quotes called Ace Insurance through a mobile number with a WhatsApp profile.
After messaging the phone number its user claimed they could offer our reporter car insurance at half-price with Direct Line by simply adding us to their hire car company's fleet insurance.
The account holder messaged: "Whatever your quote comes back at we charge half price. We're adding you to our car hire companies (sic) fleet insurance."
Several of the accounts posting videos abusing the homeless and vulnerable people advertise for promotional posts on their page with one saying they can offer them "cheap".
Homeless charity Crisis's 2016 report into violence against rough sleepers found more than one in three (35 per cent) people on the street had been hit, kicked or experienced some other form of violence.
A similar number said they had items thrown at them while 59 per cent of the homeless surveyed said they had been verbally abused or harassed.
Matt Downie, of homeless charity Crisis, said after The Sun's findings: "It’s absolutely appalling to see people treated in this way, particularly when some of them appear to be people sleeping rough, who are often some of the most vulnerable in our society.
"Any instance of abuse against homeless people must be investigated thoroughly by the police.
"As our research shows, rough sleepers are far more likely to be victims of crime, including violent assault, abuse and intimidation, compared to the general public."
And Polly Neate, CEO at Shelter said: “No one should have to face abuse or discrimination because they are homeless.
“Rough sleepers are at the sharpest end of our housing crisis and endure terrible conditions. People sleeping on the street don’t do so through choice – they are often at their lowest point, and at risk of severe illness or even violence.”
Instagram said it does not allow material showing violence or bullying towards other people and removed material highlighted by The Sun while closing down one of the accounts.
The Facebook-owned platform added that over the last year the firm has re-assigned staff to help foster a kinder community on the site.
After reviewing the material, a National Police Chiefs' Council spokeswoman said: "Anyone who sees these types of video should report it to the social media platform for them to consider removal.
"If they believe a crime has been committed they should report it to their local police force who will consider opportunities for investigation."
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