I truly don't understand how anyone can find Ted Bundy attractive, he looks like a creepy uncle who asks if you're wearing bras yet

"there's nothing wrong with therapy...but you just need it" LOL

I don’t think enjoying true crime as a baseline is a bad thing, simply because I think it’s extremely natural. We’ve always told stories about real people having horrifying things happen to them, look at some of Shakespeare’s histories. They were dramatized for sure, but that’s always how we as humans have been. I personally enjoy a specific segment of true crime (older solved stories). I think where it gets bad is when the interactivity of the internet gets invovled. When you can directly engage with other people and the victims or the villains of the storie itself, I think people will always take it too far and it will get bad.

I think the Gabby Petito case has shown how many people are in true crime just for a cash grab and not because they care about the victim or their families. It's been wild to see so many people who've never mentioned true crime before make videos about the case just because it's gone viral

I enjoy the JCS type content mostly due to interrogation anslysis. It doesn't focus on victims, it doesn't even focus so much on perpetrators - it's the applied psychology that happens in those rooms that's fascinating.

I am autistic and true crime has been a special interest of mine since i was a teenager. I am more interested in the psychology of violent crimes, like what makes people commit heinous crimes against other human beings and is there a way to prevent it? I usually look for content that focuses on the psychological aspect and is respectful towards the victims and their loved ones. I rarely engage in conversations about these topics with other people online or irl, especially since the last time i tried someone asked me "who is your favorite serial killer?" These are people who committed atrocities against other human beings, we're not talking about members of a kpop group Susan.

In 2019 my life turned into a real life true crime never-ending episode when my husband was murdered. I didn't watch anything to do with true crime for over a year because it was too traumatic. I've always loved true crime, not necessarily the "make up and murder" stuff (I can't watch those I only listen because it's not about the make up) but I do agree that a lot of people have turned peoples trauma into cheap sensation and clout chasing. Fast forward to today I'm finishing my second year of a bachelors degree in Criminology majoring in Psychology which is turning my fascination with crime into something more constructive. With my degree I'm hoping to become a grief counsellor to help people who have been victims of crime or lost loved ones to crime

shocked that she didn't talk about the folks with true crime themed tattoos (ex. bundy's face, the silhouette of the columbine guys from the cctv footage in the school, etc etc). THAT'S the most insane corner of the fandom i've seen

I cannot imagine wearing a shirt that flexes the fact you haven’t been murdered (that part especially as feels weirdly victim-blamey)

my aunt is a true crime enthusiast and at our family dinner she just goes "i'd love to see an execution live before i die! any kind would excite me, besides the guillotine maybe". now i don't believe in the death penalty. but even beyond that...what?? you want a front seat to killer's death like it's a concert or something? people were murdered, it's a tragic thing... i consume true crime content from time to time but some people have lost the plot.

There’s a lot of true crime content creators who need to stop because they are so gross and disrespectful. I think some people do a good job of making true crime content, and it’s really up to us as viewers to do our best to consume this content ethically. You have to remember that these aren’t tv shows, you don’t have all the facts, and when you comment on and attack the people involved it affects them in real life.

I enjoy true crime content, but my litmus test for what I’m consuming is “would I be ok with the surviving families of the victim knowing about what I’m listening to/watching/reading” if the answer is no, I do not engage with that content. True crime helped me while I was reconciling some of my own trauma, and I find the psychological perspectives interesting as well, but none of that should be at the expense of the victims invovl

you should have given a content warning for the breakdancing potatoes because holy shit

14:04 Just like with the Elisa Lam case being turned into a paranormal bogeyman story because so many content makers left out the part about the tank lid actually being open. It's just one of the instances that piss me off so much, though.

the “stays out of the forest and doesn’t get murdered” shirt is so victim-blame-y..

These people aren’t necessarily in the true crime community, but I’ve found so-called ‘psychics’ to be utterly disrespectful as of lately. I’ve seen several of these across TikTok and KZfaq, where they sit down with cards or candles or whatever and try to predict missing person’s cases like they’re some kind of fucking magicians. It’s very obvious that it’s all for clicks and views but they treat it like a game and it really irks me to see them downplay someone else’s trauma/tragedy.

I just wanna know what goes through people’s minds when they do things like this?? Like how can someone think that serial killers should be idolized?? It’s so baffling.

I always felt as though there needs to be a deeper dive in the beauty guru/GRWM true crime videos. I don’t know why, but there’s just something a bit…. off about that type of content. Like pausing to explain which colorpop eyeshadow palette you’re using whilst being in the middle of relaying a horrific crime that took place is pretty wild, IMO.

You mentioning how the families might feel reminds me of how Wendy Williams and Lifetime made an unauthorized biopic about Aaliyah. They went through something traumatic in losing a child so young and didn't want it made. But WW was just like "well, we're gonna do it anyways but it'll be tasteful." What a gross cash grab fr

Truer Crime is a great podcast that actively tries to reverse the weird entertainment, dehumanizing aspect of a lot of true crime content. The creator, Celisia Stanton, focuses not only on the victims and their families/communities, but on the systemic issues that foster the environment where tragedies take place. There are also resources shared at the end of each episode to learn more and how you can help those impacted. It’s a really in-depth take into everything that’s wrong with our justice system and many other facets of society and I really recommend it!

The idea of telling a true crime story while doing a get ready with me feels really weird and inappropriate like “and then she was brutally murdered btw I’m using tarte shape tape as my concealer”

Danelle Hallan and Kendall Rae are the only true crime youtubers that seem to legitimately care. They’ve had families call them to help, donated money to help searches, and so on.

I will say, though, that Kendall Rae is different. She holds fundraisers for families, she has families reach out to her and even includes them in videos sometimes. Especially when a case isn’t gaining enough traction. She doesn’t do it for the clout.

My biggest turn off with a true crime community is the way they interact and examine evidence of police misconduct, systemic issues, and the failures of the policing and “justice” system at large and completely do not address these things within their content. There could be so much potential in having a broader audience look at the way that these institutions consistently fail women, children, and marginalized people but instead events are looked at in a worst-case scenario/one off/bad apple perspective.

im SPOOKED i was just writing an essay on society’s obsession with true crime

Personally I like true crime presented by creators I watch (Stephanie Harlowe, Kendall Rae, Danelle Hallan) because it shifts the focus to the victim, their personality, their life, how their loved ones miss them. I don't think serial killers or other perpetrators should get as much publicity as they do (attention seems like a reward for something that should never be rewarded), but victims need to be remembered as people and not as nameless bodies.

When you deal with stories of death and trauma, such as homicides and kidnappings, you need to keep a respectful tone. I think what happens to both the True Crime focused content creators and fans is that they consume so much of this content that they start to want to make/watch something new and dynamic and the traditional way of presenting the cases become "boring", which leads to the "quirky and fun" types of True Crime content that treat the story and the people involved more as fictional characters and movie scenes rather than real life people. IMO these people do need someone to shake them and humble them down, because as much as I find documentaries and factual videos interesting, so many people like me who have lost a loved one to a brutal crime find it terribly disrespectful and inhumane to treat murderers like pop stars.

There's a creator who has a 10+ year rule, unless someone specifically asks her for their, or their families story to be told. She has a few other rules to keep the victim in mind and respected.

Come on Casey, Dahmer's such a Scorpio!!!! You can't deny his energy is so quirk.

i'm a consumer of true crime, but i definitely have to take breaks because sometimes i stop viewing cases as cases that affected real people, and more as entertainment. So, i think it's fine to listen/watch true crime because it is interesting and helpful, but we really have to remember that these are actual humans who had lives and deserve respect edit: grammar another edit: I also make sure to only listen to podcasts or watch videos where the people or person talking is being respectful

hear me out: ranking tumblr controversies/controversial communities also, i do wanna shout out danelle hallan's channel. she focuses on missing persons cases, especially ones that don't get as much coverage, and is almost always in touch with the families. she presents some of the main theories around the cases but rarely adds her own (and if she does they're never super sensational or otherwise made-for-entertainment). she also consistently donates to the families.

i actually used to run a tumblr blog about missing persons cases & other true crime content a few years back. everything was extremely informative & i started it to spread awareness about cases that i thought were interesting. the part about misinformation really resonated with me because i was super scared of spreading misinformation even when making those posts. i got messages from time to time from other true crime fans telling me to fix my posts because of factual errors that i missed while researching. honestly, it's part of the reason why i got rid of the blog entirely. i wanted the victims stories out to more people since a lot of the ones i posted about were not well known, but correct information online can be hard to come by, and it stressed me out immensely whether i fucked up or not. also researching that shit all day put me in such a bad state mentally.

Yeah I agree 100%. When Tristyn Bailey, a 13 year old girl was murdered earlier this year I watched a true crime KZfaqr make a video on it and 7 minutes of that video was them advertising a company they were sponsored by, and that's just one example of how ignorant and tone deaf people in the true crime community can be.

its always creeped me out, and if its a missing persons case, the captor could be seeing this "fandom" forming around their crimes and provoke them further.

i've seen tattoos of ted bundy's bite mark, the black dahlia's mutilated body and the columbine shooters suicide crime scene. some people are beyond disrespectful. there's also the fact that you can regularly scroll down a true crime video and see people whine about "SpOiLeRs" like we aren't talking about real life murders and kidnappings.... get a grip, ted.

I’m glad you called out the GRWM bs…it’s so disturbing that they make a joke out of it

Honestly I’ve always felt uncomfortable with cases that happened recently… I understand someone in every case is going to have some living relatives but getting invested and learning about a case that happened in the 1800-early 1900s vs a case that is still actively being investigated/ had never gone cold has always felt a little icky

I went through a traumatic abuse experience at a very young age, and I found myself very drawn to true crime because I wanted to understand evil. I believed if I could understand how evil worked, then I could protect myself and others from being victim to it again. I read my grandmas true crime paperbacks, then when I was old enough to get a computer I read about evil as much as I could. I was obsessed. Serial killers, abuse, hidden children, war crimes, gang violence, I wanted to understand evil in all of its forms. When I went to therapy I realized that by seeking out information about evil, I was traumatizing myself over and over again. The wound from the original trauma never had the chance to heal because I was basically poisoning myself with every scrap of knowledge I found. I was incredibly anxious and paranoid and even thought about ending my life because I couldn’t fathom living in a world where that much evil could fester. Every person I met I feared because I know that evil can hide inside the most unlikely of places. I stay far away from that stuff now, and I’m starting to get better, but I still have nightmares about the stuff I read, sometimes when I’m alone I break down and cry not just because of what happened to me personally, but because I carry this knowledge of evil inside me and my heart breaks for every victim whose faces I can never unsee. I think the content creators who treat true crime like it’s fiction are subconsciously doing it to buffer themselves from what I went through.

"we're still seeing the effects of tumblr even though it died in 2018" who is going to tell her tumblr is still Super active

i really wish there was more "true crime" content about crimes that aren't murder like scam artists and companies being shitty and causing ppl to get hurt. its kinda similar to anti mlm content maybe but obvs not just ab mlms. idk i just find it a bit more interesting and more likely to happen to me than being murdered. (p.s. if that sounds interesting check out the swindled podcast, its on spotify and maybe other places too)

I used to be more interested in true crime (some creators do have a respectful approach, work with families, are sceptical of the police, talk about the systemic issues, etc.) but I got a bit tired of it cuz the community (and some creators) can really be... something else lmao

nickisnotgreen did a video about the gabby petito case specifically, and the comments made me realize that the way people have taken advantage of this case also goes for most "viral" missing person/murder cases. definitely changed the way i watch any true crime content on social media.

Elisa Lam's case was one of the first cases that get me hooked into the true crime genre. Many videos made about her (and especially the ones from my country) were more focused on the CCTV footage and the supernatural theories. Then I watched That Chapter video of this case. He emphasized on Elisa's past life, her struggle with mental illness, reminding his viewers that she has friends and family just like all of us, and pretty much debunked the supernatural theories. That moment I realized why some TC KZfaqrs just don't feel right to me. Some of them put cool nickname for the murderers and treat the victims as nameless bodies. Plus now, your video makes me even more mindful about what I consume as a viewer.

I've seen a lot of Twitter Discourse™ critical of True Crime pointing out that it's making listeners paranoid and tbh initially I really brushed that aside and thought it was silly. Then I met one of my friends who is already anxious and neurotic, plus now (maybe because of anxiety?) consumes a TON of true crime and has gone fully paranoid. She's afraid to go out if it's dark at all, afraid to take Ubers, etc. She takes insane precautions in her apartment (she doesn't live alone), like hiding weapons all over and spending a ton on cameras...she's in a super safe area too. So my opinion has changed. I think women especially have a very healthy fear of certain forms of violence, but that is exploited by content creators playing into those and creating an environment of deeply unhealthy anxiety-mongering. You're not going to be murdered by a serial killer. A stranger is not going to break into your house and attack you. Don't put yourself in danger, but don't put yourself in a state of deep paranoia because of some dumb half-truthed infotainment crap either!

The way I clicked on this so fast lmao

writing true crime fanfiction isn’t easy, but grammarly can help

I know they’re really popular, but as someone who likes true crime, watching certain “makeup and true crime” videos is so unsettling. People can claim to take the cases seriously as much as they want but when you’re compressing all the victims of a serial killer into a 15 minute video while not giving justice to the details of the case and joking about your makeup or whatever it comes off as so disrespectful

I’m a big fan of true crime and have been really interested in it for years. One thing that really gets under my skin though is people like Bailey Sarian who seems so detached from the victims she is talking about. Her whole persona is supposed to be quirky and fun, but it doesn’t sit right with me when she’s talking about a teenager getting brutally murdered. There are some content creators like Kendall Rae, who put the focus on the victims and how tragic the stories are. But people like Bailey just want to tell a CRAZY story. Plus, it didn’t sit right with me when reading Bailey’s comments and every comment is saying how their day got SO much better when she posted. These stories aren’t just fun plots. People died. It’s weird to me

Kendall Rae had a saying that’s “being an active true crime viewer” essentially meaning, boost the case through sharing the case, follow pages made by family members trying to bring attention to the case, sign petitions, etc. That type of thing is alright to me and Kendall is the only true crime youtuber I watch because she is very respectful to the families & often includes family members in her videos. Shit like “true crime addict” on shirts is crossing a line and it’s just weird... like these are real cases, with real victims with families who are still grieving. I think people need to be an active listener/viewer and keep in mind that these cases happened to real people and hurt the families.

I really "enjoy" true crime content, mostly podcasts. But I only ever like the well-researched kind that illustrates psychological factors, shine a light on the justice system and show potential effects of a crime on society. As in, I feel like I learn something and don't just enjoy people's suffering. To me, understanding factors and influences behind some horrible things make me understand the world a little better even though it does not make me feel safer or more prepared (because literally nobody is safe, ever). Also in podcast where I am from people often change the names of both the victim and the criminal to take pressure off families and not give murderers attention. And I think that is a lot more healthy than the typical US way of "Hey let's give this guy a nickname and plaster his face everywhere". Still, I don't understand how people could ever idolize people like Bundy. That is just not it.

i've always had an interest in true crime, but the moment i realized it wasn't all "to help the victim's and their families" was when i gave my favorite murder a chance. in like the first 10 minutes they were fucking cackling about some guy being brutally murdered and i couldn't listen/watch anything related for the longest time

Idea for a podcast : instead of people telling the story of a crime they randomly found online, it would be a serie of interviews of victims. Not asking them what happened, but more on what changed because of it, how do they feel about it, what they wish people knew about them instead of being the victim of an atrocious crime, ... The goal wouldn't be to make people cry while listening to it, but asking the more question like "why, in our current justice system and media sphere, aren't we putting the victim first? why do we focus so much on the perpetrator? what should be done about it?"

gabulosis is by far one of the best true crime youtubers, she works on exclusively vintage (20+ year old) cases and pretty much always tries to contact people directly involved (family or people who worked on the case) whenever possible and she;'s so respectful about it all

The true crime community be like: omg I love baking cookies while I listen to a true story about someone being brutally murdered

There was a true crime account i watched 2 videos of out of curiosity and and she literally said the kidnappers zodiac sign and went "haha doesnt that make sense lol" i was so shocked

I personally know two people who’s family member was horrifically murdered by a serial killer, so I can imagine how a victim’s family reacts to people watching or listening to this stuff for entertainment because I’ve seen it. My personal belief is that if the content isn’t helping in some way, it’s just gratuitous and unnecessary. Spread awareness of missing people and justice reform, share the warning signs of domestic abuse and where/how to seek help, but we don’t need to keep traumatizing these families by glorifying the source of their pain.

mom can you pick me up they’re genuinely making fancams of serial killers and i’m scared

i am officially a certified true crime community hater after the gabby petito tiktok insanity and this bs

The older I got, the less interested I got in true crime. I think when I was younger I was more detached from the world so it didn't feel weird but now it just disturbs me and deeply unsettles me. I can imagine what the victims went through a lot better and it's too overwhelming for me.

I’ve been watching true crime shows since I was pretty young, and I’ve noticed the content has changed a lot. In the 90s, the focus seemed to be more on the forensics and how they solved the crimes (especially because DNA was just being introduced) or on bringing awareness to unsolved cases (often with tip line numbers at the end of episodes). Nowadays, it seems like KZfaq creators just want to give a shock factor to all the stories so they get more viewers. Even the titles use a lot of buzzwords like “the BIZARRE case of so and so” or “the GRUESOME murder” and often have a thumbnail of the creator with a shocked face. It just doesn’t sit well with me.

TW: CA Growing up in an abusive household I always felt a separation between me and other people. Like we lived in different worlds. Seeing someone just watching other people’s trauma and treating it like a fun story with characters and not real people only makes me realize how different I am. I would hate to see my own trauma told the way any of these true crime creators tell stories.

i listen to Heist Podcast on Spotify, their tagline is literally “the true crime podcast without any of the murder” bc the two hosts, matt and simon, are v uncomfortable talking about deaths and want to treat those events respectfully. It’s a p lighthearted podcast that goes into the process of people doing a heist, the whys and hows, and the victims are usually just rich ppl so like wtv lol but i definitely recommend if anyone’s into heists or is uncomfortable w murder bc same!!

Ok so I was talking to a friend about this the other day! I don’t like the makeup/true crime merge because I find it to be trivializing the crime; like I shouldn’t be talking/hearing about brutal murders in the same way I’d be telling my friend about my day or about somebody I’m dating. Like, I’m interested in both makeup and true crime, but not in the same vein.

I feel like a lot of true crime gets fictionalized in people's minds, especially the unsolved ones. Our brains are a bit too hardwired to seek out narratives in everything, that if the correct action isn't taken to properly humanize the victims, they can feel like they only exist on paper. Recently with the Gabby Patito case, I saw people claiming they "sensed bad energy around her" and guessed that she'd actually murdered someone or something equally as awful. When she was very clearly a victim to anyone who isn't obsessed with creating the most entertaining narrative around the situation.

We all need therapy together for lots of different shit thrown at us...

I definitely see the point you’re making, the idea that other people’s trauma is to be consumed for entertainment is creepy and the fan girl/boy mentality surrounding true crime is weird.

I used to watch true crime youtubers a lot, but much like you I grew out of it. One of the things that always made me really critical of them is when they're telling the 'story' of a crime, and start describing how the victim was feeling (like "She turned around in fear, knowing her life was about to end" or something) as if it's a fictional story, since they would have absolutely no way to know how a victim felt so they're just fabricating it to jazz up the tension in their 'story'. It strikes me as so disrespectful, and almost every true crime youtuber I've seen has done it.

An amazing true crime KZfaqr is Kendall Rae, I HIGHLY suggest her videos because she encourages active true crime watching and gives missing people the coverage they need. She works with the families of the victims to spread their story and she is just amazing

I've had a similar journey with true crime as you, I used to be obsessed with it and thought it was so fascinating but recently bc of how popular it's gotten most ppl already know the "famous" cases and killers so people have started reporting on more recent stories, where the victims families are still very much alive and have to see people entertained by their tragedy. i saw a tiktok of a friend of a girl who was killed and whose story was being sensationalized by the TC community, she said it was very hurtful seeing people profiting off her friend's passing and people making up dumb theories about what happened because they thought the real story was "boring". it really opened my eyes about how disrespectful the TC community can be to victims and hurtful to their loved ones

I enjoy true crime content, but when creators aren't actually respectful to the victims, I don't enjoy it. One of the reasons I enjoy certain creators so much is because the content is actually a caring and thoughtful consideration of the life and experiences of those involved. For instance, Truer Crime is my favorite podcast because not only does it focus on the shortcomings of the justice system, but also is incredibly respectful to the victims.

Something really disgusting in the way they call it true crime "community" or "fandom" as if it's a television show or movie for their entertainment. As if these aren't real victims and families tragedies and they get some sick enjoyment and entertainment about pushing their own theory, evidence and logic be damned. I watch a lot of documentaries on these subjects and it disturbs me how the content will be about someone who was brutally murdered and their family is trying to find justice while the comments on the video are "just made myself some hot chocolate and prepared to get cozy ^_^" as if they don't even view it as real.

It’s so weird when someone stops talking about a tragic event to start talking about a vpn or headphones idk it feels very insensitive. “And today’s murder is sponsored by……” Idk it just makes me feel icky

like im genuinely worried for people, especially young girls, who idolize literal murderers like babe get some help pls you need it

"imagine richard ramirez running on the beach into the sunset with you after he gets released from prison🥺🥺🥺" yeah so he avoids the dentist and doctor for having disgusting hygiene and rancid breath

The grwm true crime videos seriously creep me out. I've been watching and listening tc for years and i understand why people consume content like that. But especially lately i have been reeally thinking twice about who and what i want to support, and how to be an active listener. Not active in a tiktok psychic kinda way tho

I'm all for calling out the failures of the police/justice system and advocating for/raising the voices of the families of victims, but the exploitation of real people's (especially recent) trauma for pure entertainment value is disgusting. The people on the internet with no experience/expertise who like to LARP as detectives during active cases and just spew whatever unfounded theory they've come up with...insanely problematic, dangerous, and probably offensive to families. Its like they forget that the people who were murdered are real actual people with complex lives, dreams, etc. and its disgusting to treat them as footnotes in the story of their killers.

I was never a true crime buff until my 30s probably. I listen to podcasts especially. All that I listen to are extremely respectful of the victims and make them more "real" and allow listeners to realize they are human beings. They never hype the killers themselves. I think when we glamorize the murder/murderer....then the line has been crossed.

I like hearing art theft stories and heists because they tend to be a lot less gory but those stories tend to get mixed with true crime. Idk listening to it makes me uncomfortable. I mean stealing art isn’t great, but it’s rare that someone is seriously hurt as a result

I used to watch a lot of true crime content but now I really only watch Kendall Rae, Danielle Hallan, and Georgia Marie. In my opinion all three of these creators show respect towards the people they discuss, they often work directly with the families, and they also share go fund me and other resources to help the people involve. They also don’t mix these stories with makeup and other genres. I had no idea there was even True Crime AMSR until you said it in this video. I loved your point that shows such as Dateline and 20/20 have executives that approve and monitor the stories, unlike KZfaq.

Tori Stafford's case is really vivid to me as well tbh. She went missing right near me, I remember being out for a walk and seeing people hanging up her missing posters. My family was also glued to the news, her death really stuck with all of us and always will.

some people get upset when kendall rae does interviews with family members of victims and it's ridiculous. just proof that some folks view real crimes as entertaining stories and don't have/use critical thinking skills.

I recommend Kendal Rae's video about being an active and responsible true crime viewer. She interviews the family members of victims who are advocates about what they see as respectful and helpful and what they see as not from the viewers.

I started consuming true crime bc of morbid curiosity and to be more aware of the world around me but these days I feel like if I keep consuming it I'll be desensitized to it and its given me a lot of nightmares and paranoia/anxiety

Oh we been knew. It's horrible that some people in the true crime community are more into romanticizing the serial killers or the cases and not give the care and respect these cases deserve

i agree 100% with your overall view on the topic, its crazy how its being “normalized” and treated like any other piece of fiction when it so real. on a side note im just glad penelope scott said it: tedd bundy was just never that fucking bright, he was just sort of charismatic and white

But Casey, as an empath I’m like REALLY good at reading people… sometimes professional investigators miss things and they need someone with my specific skills to help out.

When I first got interested in the True Crime Community I watched more lighthearted creators. After awhile it didn't sit right with me so I find myself more geared towards the creators who take it seriously and respect the families involved such as Stephanie Harlowe and Kendall Rae.

Tbh I listen to True Crime podcasts as white noise pretty much constantly 🥴 it's pretty much just because it's something I'm somewhat interested in and fine with listening to regardless of mood/etc. As a teen in the early naughties, I watched shows like Pathology a lot. With podcasts there's an insane amount available, so when I'm done listening to one podcast i can just jump to the next. My checkpoints for podcasts are respectfulness and the auditory experience (voice/intonation/no distracting sound effects/...). At this point I rarely come across new cases I'm definitely not part of the community.

I recently told a few people that I was a fan of “crime videos” and “murder documentaries” and I realized how I could have been perceived for saying it with no context. Like you said about your experience, i also use it as a (maybe flawed) coping mechanism for my fear of someone hurting me or kidnapping me. I don’t want anyone to think I actually enjoy hearing about serial killers on the run, hurting people. I just like to hear the stories of people and how others rally around them, and hopefully have their attacker(s) brought to justice. You make a lot of very good points!

I used to listen to my favorite murder but lately I can’t get over how unapologetically under researched they are, and how they have to make corrections every episode

i've been seeing a lot of content recently on tiktok relating to the gabby petito case. while some of it wants to genuinely raise awareness, most of it is peddling ridiculous theories, spreading misinformation and just overall being very incentive of what the family and friends of gabby are going through right now. it can always be cruel to speculate on cases, but especially with one that is so fresh, it's disrespectful and actually dangerous.

There is an interesting thing in human nature for many to be drawn to all forms of this topic, whether it be from centuries ago when public hangings were basically an event people would gather at as if it were a fun fair and celebrate... to now where true crime is so highly covered and shown that one can easily imagine it being yourself or a loved one who faces the worst situations and it scares and captivates. To me personally, the gross part is misinformation on not only YT, but TV networks such as with Columbine as that was the first massively horrific thing that happened when I was a teen and gripped me. It's sick how there is a fandom for the shooters still to this day and that inspired others no less and that to me is the problem with some coverage but overall I feel true crime coverage helps people be more aware of the danger that they could encounter and how to help themselves if found in it.

It’s one thing to be a true crime fan. It’s another to be a True Crime Fan. You know. The whole rockabilly, victory roll, red lip, kitten heel “it’s actually flavor-aid, not koolaid” “promo code MURDER” kind of true crime fan.

I think a big contributing factor to the flux of people moving to monetize true crime comes in how easy of content it is to make. Anyone with a microphone and an internet connection can “research” and talk about these cases in any way they want, with minimal accountability, and profit from it. You don’t really need a good personality or thoughtful commentary, because a lot of the cases are interesting enough on their own without addition, and it makes it an easy niche to succeed in without any real effort. All you need to do is report the facts on a case and boom, a huge audience already exists who enjoys that specific content. They don’t have to necessarily enjoy you. There are plenty of creators out there that do it justice; they integrate great discussion around topics and approach their subjects with respect and education, but I definitely think your point about “creator-based” content holds a lot of truth.

yeah i’ve experienced some pretty true crimes and people treat it like a game irl too

i was JUST in the middle of a true crime podcast …. weirdly perfect timing casey!

I must admit, I am someone who does like to indulge in true crime content. I'm not a fanatic or anything, I just like to hear about mysteries and other scary things that have happened in the world. I don't understand why people think liking true crime makes them quirky, though. In a way the news is a form of true crime content and that's been going strong for years. I think it's just a part of human nature to be drawn in and curious about these sorts of things, like how we all want to get a closer look and see what happened when we see a car crash scene on the road.

I think a lot of true crime podcasts especially comedy podcasts should be looked at too. The fact a show called my favorite murder was like the #1 show in the world is …interesting to say the least. A lot of these podcasts don’t do their proper research and have routinely been called out by victims families

ugh the fact that Jeffree star has a john bonnett ramsey tattoo makes me sick, i used to be really into true crime but now i feel like ethically the content crosses lines often. Maybe it's because of my own experiences. I really appreciated Kendall Rae's missing person videos since she is raising awareness and contacting the victims.