Is The Online Frenzy In Gabby Petito's Disappearance Helpful Or In Poor Taste?

Crime enthusiasts are often obsessed with documentaries relating to the subject. But what about when it happens in real-time? There's been a voyeuristic online frenzy to find Gabby Petito. Does this help her case or is it in poor taste? The 22-year-old blogger disappeared while on a cross-country trip with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, 23, reports PEOPLE. They were traveling in a converted white Ford van and documenting their adventures on YouTube. 

The case garnered national interest when Laundrie returned from the trip without Petito. She last had contact with her family on Aug. 24 and was reported missing on Sept. 11. The two had been dating for two years and were living with Laundrie's parents in Florida prior to the trip. Now, human remains have been found in a Wyoming national park that officials believe belonged to Gabby Petito. Laundrie has not spoken about Gabby's disappearance to authorities and this has led to further suspicion amongst the public. Things took a stranger turn when officials announced on Friday that Laundrie is currently considered missing.

According to Mashable, the story has exploded online with the tag #gabbypetito gaining over 77 million views on TikTok, and #findgabbypetito with 16.6 million. The tag #gabbypetitoupdate has 7.3 million. While many claims to be posting out of concern some of it seems to be toeing the line at distastefully opportunistic. Many have also been pointing the finger at Laundrie for his silence. "This is understandably an extremely difficult time for both the Petito family and the Laundrie family," Laundrie's attorneys previously said in a statement . "On behalf of the Laundrie family, it is our hope that the search for Miss Petito is successful and that Miss Petito is re-united with her family."

Art Bowker, an investigator at an independent police accountability agency in the Cleveland Department of Public Safety and a cybersecurity expert warns of the dangers of making speculations without evidence. "I don't think they should be discussing it, to be frank, when they don't have access to the evidence themselves," Bowker said adding that content creators online don't do the same work as detectives who actually interview witnesses and inspect evidence. "Professional media is supposed to have standards about what they'll do and what they won't, and these YouTubers don't have those. They haven't developed those ethics, and that's a shame."

Alvin Williams hosts the podcast Affirmative Murder which focuses on true crimes with victims of color. The 29-year-old highlighted another perspective on the story.  “I’m incredibly glad she is getting the resources needed to help find her,” he said according to the New York Times (while she was still considered a missing person), “but there is an obvious disproportionate focus on her story,” he said. “We can play the game of, ‘Oh it’s because she was a vlogger’ and all those things, but we can also see that she is a Gen Z, blonde, petite girl, and that is what gets the clicks,” Williams added. Haley Toumaian, a 24-year-old data analyst, agrees that white women have been the focus of true-crime storytelling but also adds that "people are so into" Petito's case "because it is happening in real-time and because you can follow many of the clues yourself that Gabby and Brian left on social media,” she said. What do you'll think?