RISE OF THE TikTok DETECTIVES

Amateur sleuths are heading online to solve crimes, share theories and get famous 

- Emma Levett

The hashtag #true crime has been viewed 38.7 billion times on TikTok and the hunger for constant updates about both current and cold criminal cases has led to the rise of the "TikTok detective".

But this phenomenon poses new and ongoing challenges for police in their investigations.

Interference by these social media sleuths became particularly apparent in January 2023 after the disappearance of 45-year-old mortgage adviser Nicola Bulley in the UK.

CONSPIRACY THEORIES

The body of the mother-of-two was eventually discovered three weeks later, and an inquest recently found she accidentally slipped into the water and drowned while out walking her dog.

But instead of letting the police do their job, online enthusiasts fed the public's thirst for information in the days leading to the tragic discovery of Nicola's body.

Wild TikTok conspiracy theories took hold, suggesting the case had been created as a "distraction" by the government and that Nicola's friends and family could be "crisis actors" staging events.

Wannabe Nancy Drews travelled to the scene to dig up the area, and prominent TikToker Dan Duffy was arrested for a public order offence after saying he'd been in people's back gardens at night hunting for information.

"In my 29 years of police service I've never seen anything like it," lead detective superintendent Becky Smith said about the "false information, accusations and rumours" at the time.