With over 1.1M posts on TikTok, true crime videos are captivating audiences inspired by Netflix’s true crime shows, “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” and “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.” According to Parrot Analytics, teenagers have become obsessed with this thrilling genre with true crime being the most in-demand documentary genre in the United States. As producer of both Netflix shows, Ryan Murphy’s adaptations continue to captivate viewers by many times portraying the characters differently than the real-life people. . Unfortunately, teenage viewers in particular have started to romanticize serial killers across TikTok, portraying them as simply “hot” figures, rather than acknowledging them as real individuals who committed a serious crime. As a result, an unruly fandom across the internet has been created and spread through TikTok.
Netflix is the leading platform for consuming true crime content, but TikTok is also contributing to the true crime craze. Since the Netflix show released “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” in 2022, fandoms have been created across TikTok, many getting out of control with romanticizing both Dahmer and his character portrayal. As a result, viewers misinterpret the story, overlooking the profound impact Dahmer had on his victims and their families, instead becoming captivated by the romanticization of Dahmer himself.
Netflix has recently released “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” on Sept.19 with fans rapidly sharing false narratives without conducting any further research on the actual case and creating romanticizing edits of the brothers on TikTok. Many people are becoming obsessed with this portrayal of them on TikTok, viewing the brothers as victims of a tragic narrative, and missing the true focus of the show, which is to tell the story of the Menendez brothers case.
Not all fan-made TikTok videos are harmful about Dahmer and the Menendez Brothers, most of them are taken seriously by teenagers watching them. However, many of these viral TikTok videos sympathize with the Dahmer and the Menendez Brothers, mixing their story with the crazy true crime fandom. The fan domain of Netflix’s true crime characters spreading across TikTok are viral videos, attempting to convey a false depiction of serial killers and victims across the internet. Many creators rely solely on the show’s portrayal to spread false theories, such as the claim that the Menendez brothers were entirely innocent of the murders they committed due to their parents’ abuse. This is due to the lack of research conducted before posting harmful videos of them on Tiktok. The real crime of the true-crime fandom is creating the wrong ethics of true-crime content, which often prioritizes the glamorization of the story rather than the true one. There is no real way to correct what these viral videos have done, but to help with the issue many should do their own research on the true crime story before posting a false narrative on the internet.
