The Ethics of True Crime Consumption
This past week on Twitter, a user by the name ‘@neneneqo’ posted a meme about the irony of fearing classic horror movies while being fascinated by true crime documentaries:
The tweet garnered reactions from users that found it funny or related to it in some way. However, it also sparked some outrage from users that expressed concern about the rising popularity of true crime consumption. In response to the meme, user ‘@cupcakecat11’ said “True crime becoming a popular thing to watch is so upsetting because so many people are really... Insensitive about people's actual deaths.”
He followed up to clarify that he’s “not against people learning about true crime…it’s the disregard of the victims themselves that’s really upsetting and worrying.” He then followed up again, suggesting that true crime enthusiasts play video games such as ‘Ace Attorney’ for a “nice murder mystery experience that doesn’t make you feel weird for talking about real people’s deaths.”
While I disagree with his implication that playing a video game is equivalent to the experience of learning about real crimes, his concern about the insensitivity of murder victims is valid.
However, there really is a middle-ground in true crime consumption and enthusiasm. Just as a good journalist would follow the Code of Ethics published by the Society of Professional Journalists, a good true crime sleuth, writer, or consumer should ideally follow a set of ethical standards as well.
Unfortunately, there is no official guidebook for ethical true crime consumption. It’s up to the true crime community to create it and follow it.
While I have no authority to author an official rulebook that governs someone’s interests, I can uphold my own code of ethics in my consumption and writing of true crime and I would encourage other enthusiasts to do the same for themselves.
I don’t have a code of ethics written down on my computer to refer to; I’ve been watching ‘Forensic Files’ since I was 7, and 20 years later I read about or watch true crime news daily. (I occasionally write about it, too!). It hasn’t desensitized me to crime, in fact, it’s done quite the opposite.
In the 20+ years I’ve been interested in true crime, I’ve learned about the famous serial killers: Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer, etc. The names of those killers are so notorious, but the names of their victims are not. More content about these men continues to pour out onto streaming services and podcasts. This is where the concerns by @Cupcakecat11 are validated. We don’t need more information about them. If more content is to be produced about them, make it focused on the victims and their families.
True crime information should be spread responsibly, truthfully, and fairly. We must give attention to the cases that don’t get as much media attention. The cases where the victims are Black. The cases where the victims are Indigenous. The cases where the victims are LGBTQIA+. The cases where the victims were sex workers. The unsolved cases.
If you’re a true crime enthusiast, utilize your inner moral compass when deciding what to pay attention to or write about.
Being interested in true crime is not a bad thing; crimes are stories, and stories need to be told.
