#Cybersleuths: The Idaho Murders

Whoever thought this would be entertaining I hope for our sake never produces anything ever again. I was about twenty minutes in before I stopped watching it. That was all I could take. Like water dropping on your forehead. I hate documentaries like this. All it does is bring out the nut jobs that actually have no idea what their doing. These people were interfering with an ongoing investigation. These amateur detectives are not restricted to follow police procedures. That they released this before trial is over is wrong on many levels. And they're not even entertaining. At all. The foul mouthed young lady is particularly annoying. TikTok sleuths do more harm than good. What the hell Paramount?

I found myself becoming increasingly irritated while watching this documentary. Statements from these "cyber sleuth" influencers are so ridiculous. "We dig deeper... social media is really taking over the game." All of these people insinuating that they can do it better than police, they are smarter than everyone.

"We have this ingrained idea that you need a diploma or a degree in order to do something. But we're living in a new generation where there's other loopholes to get where you wanna be."

How terrifying is that statement? After listening to these people, it is very obvious they have little post secondary education, if any. The arrogance and attitude that they can do this better than trained professionals is infuriating. Also, the deterioration of the English language and general intelligence of people is evident in the film.

If you have any modicum of intelligence, skip this one. And if you had to look up any of the words in my review, go ahead and watch it.

This is clearly about the social media cybersleuths and how they are not professional detectives. They speculate and run with questionable information. They dive into theories based on random info with relatively thin corroboration of evidence or leads. Then they pivot when more facts come to light. Basically how can they stay relavant and extend the story in the space they exist. I found it funny how the people would be introduced by showing how many followers the online individuals had compared to the actual policeman that had a couple hundred FBook friends. It just seemed to underline where people's intents may lie.

I am really surprised to read reviews that think this documentary series is about cybersleuths in a good way or because they hate the people being documented, they leave bad reviews of the show.

There is no moralizing narrator telling you how you should feel about these people. Reviewers seem to think that those making the show need to explicitly say these people suck and that they cause(d) harm. The documentary lets the cybersleuths themselves show how much they suck and as we watch them in action as the Idaho Murders investigation unfolds, we see how they cause harm.

Let's be clear, those being documented really, really suck. They use human tragedy for social media branding, to make money, to feel a part of something that has nothing to do with them, and don't care if their "theories" harm investigations and/or trials. They don't care if they accuse innocent people of crimes and ruin/endanger their lives. They don't care when crime victims are re-traumatized by having to respond to online rumors of guilt or having not "behaved correctly in response to a crime." When shown to be wrong, they double down and create even crazier conspiracy theories so they can keep their followers (and money flowing in). They are happy to sow distrust in the criminal justice system for their own gain. Not that it is perfect by ANY means but these people are happy to tear down an important American institution for selfish reasons.

The documentary shows how there is no check on their content. Instead, the further they fall down conspiracy rabbit holes, the more they are rewarded. You catch flashes of self-awareness in some of the people being documented but they quickly make excuses for themselves.

If you are not familiar with true crime vids on TikTok (or true crime podcasts), you will find this documentary series educational and probably alarming.

I wish I had looked this up ahead of time (or at least watched it high so I could forget I ever saw it). As other reviewers have noted, it's an extremely painful watch. All of the "cyber sleuths" are extremely grating. So many of the things they said made me roll my eyes so hard that I fear I pulled a muscle.

It's one thing to decide to get involved because you feel like a case has gone cold or is not receiving the proper attention. (For example, no one can underscore the invaluable work Michelle McNamara did to finally identify the Golden State Killer). But that is not what these individuals are doing. They are hopping on to cases that are already oversaturated with media attention and adding more harmful speculation and misinformation into the mix while also peddling dubious wares of questionable origins in the hopes of getting an extra buck. They tout their superiority to the "mainstream media" because they are not as constrained in what they can say or publish. What they fail to acknowledge is that said constraints are in place to ensure that reporting done by reputable institutions is fair and accurate.

The only reason I gave two stars is that I (masochistically) watched the entire docuseries. The final episode, though far from redeeming the whole exercise, does attempt to expose some of the "cyber sleuths" by revealing seedy backgrounds and highlighting some of the damage they caused. Nevertheless, it does little to save the entire series. It might have been more effective had they interviewed some of the individuals harmed by their speculations or even some of the victims family members. As it stood, the series did little to shed light on the murders, the victims, the perpetrator, or the individuals caught in the crossfire. (As someone who knew little about the case, this was especially disappointing). Instead it gave these borderline trolls a nearly three hour platform to dig in their heels and double down on their baseless claims. Hard pass.