Common Sense Media Review
By Melissa Camacho
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Docuseries about true crime, social media has language.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
#Cybersleuths: The Idaho Murders
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
#CYBERSLEUTHS: THE IDAHO MURDERS is a three-part docuseries that examines how self-proclaimed social media investigators both helped and hindered the investigation into the violent deaths of four college students. On November 13, 2022, Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin were found brutally murdered in their home close to the University of Idaho campus. The six-week-long investigation, during which time the Moscow, Idaho PD shared little information, became the focus of true-crime focused social media influencers like Olivia (aka "chroniclesofolivia") and Ailene (aka "bullhornbetty") who spent time in Idaho launching their own investigation and sharing their findings on TikTok, while others like Jenna (aka "jenna-canella") used the same platform to speculate about what happened. While these personalities share how they helped bring continued attention to the case, law enforcement and other experts highlight how they also made the search for the killer more difficult.
Is It Any Good?
This series offers a closer look at the role that "cybersleuths" played in the investigation of what's now known as the Idaho murders, and the arrest of Bryan Christopher Kohlberger for the crime. The self-proclaimed investigators in Cybersleuths: The Idaho Murders explain the importance of their work, often sharing their thoughts about the failures of mainstream media and law enforcement to appropriately cover and work cases (and which sometimes sounds arrogant, given that Kohlberger was never on their radar).
Meanwhile, experts like CBS correspondent Lilia Luciano and social media psychologist Dr. Pamela Rutledge acknowledge that while social media influencers helped raise awareness about the crimes, they, like most social media sleuths, lack journalistic and ethical training. Further, they face no accountability for spreading rumors, misinformation, and generating false leads, all of which costs trained investigators important time and resources that can be put to better use. But while the overall series raises important questions about how we understand crime investigations and social media's role in it, the biggest problem with #Cybersleuths: The Idaho Murders is that it is often slow going, and at times feels repetitive.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the difference between the work of journalists and social media personalities and influencers. What kind of training do each require? What holds each accountable for what they report or the content they create?
Does #Cybersleuths: The Idaho Murders? offer an unbiased characterization of the role of social media on true crime investigations? How are viewers supposed to feel about the work of "cybersleuths" after watching it?
TV Details
- Premiere date : February 6, 2024
- Cast : Lilia Luciano , Pamela Rutledge
- Network : Paramount+
- Genre : Reality TV
- Character Strengths : Perseverance
- TV rating :
- Last updated : April 3, 2024
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