MovieShrink7

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.