Multiple true crime cases have been brought to light, with people showing their condolences on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and more. However, there are so many negatives to be considered when people are making these stories into their true crime puzzle.

     TikTok and YouTube have their fair share of true crime content creators. Most of them speak with respect towards the victims; but, some do not listen to their audience and the families. They post videos on cases where the family prefers it not be publicized and put a spin on a story of events to make a more entertaining video. Most recently, there has been an uprising of creators onTikTok in which they create videos displaying the case but then giving the bias of their opinions on suspects, how the case went down, etc.

     To explain this further, there are creators on TikTok that will post their opinions on suspects and say things such as “There’s no way this happened,” or, “It has to be [anyone related to the victims somehow], they were suspicious because…” This can be very damaging to the people that are trying to grieve for their lost family or friends. The added problem of the entire world thinking they are guilty of something burdens them, even though they have been cleared by the police. It is understandable to say that things can look suspicious, or that some things “don’t add up,” but you, as an outsider, never know all of the information that forensic and police investigators know.

     According to The New York Times, “Entire cable channels and an endless churn of documentaries and podcasts tackle every angle and flavor of crime and criminal, while social media offers fans a way to participate.” The world saw this happen last year with 22-year-old Gabrielle Petito. “[She] disappeared while on a road trip with her fiancé, prompting a torrent of media coverage that rarely happens for the hundreds of thousands of other people reported missing each year in the United States,” says The New York Times. People on TikTok and YouTube were creating videos describing all the public information on the case and including their opinions on what could have happened to her, and their suspicions on her fiancé, Brian Laundrie.

     This is currently happening now with the murders of four Idaho University students: Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen. They were all found in the rental home that was rented out by the three girls listed and two other roommates. Currently, people online are pointing fingers at the two other roommates as they were home and supposedly did not hear anything during the attacks during the night. The two other girls are trying to grieve for the four friends that they lost that night, while most of the internet is pointing suspicions on to them. 

     Others online have taken it to another extreme and are digging into the victims lives to give their theories on neighbors, ex-boyfriends, friends, and more. Let these people grieve and let investigators do their work. They have been ruling people out for a reason. With the internet hounding the cases, it is hard for actual evidence to stay out there. Keeping the case alive for people to come forward with information is the best people can do when making videos.

      Keep the suspicions and theories to yourself.