
Right now, Gabby Petito's parents are grieving the unthinkable.
On Sunday they were informed that a body matching their daughter's description was found in the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, just shy of a month since they last spoke to her.
She was 22. She loved art and yoga. She'd set off in July on an exciting adventure across America in a Ford Transit van she and her fiance Brian Laundrie had transformed into a mobile home.
Read more: Three weeks ago Brian returned home without his fiance Gabby. A body has just been found.
We already live in a world that's true crime obsessed. Endless podcasts, movies, TV shows and articles are written about it, exploring both fiction and non-fiction cases.
But the way Gabby's disappearance has been co-opted by her generation on TikTok is a new breed of true crime obsession.
Millions of people have been 'investigating' the case in real-time, amassing hundreds of millions of views and even more comments debating the contents of their latest 'clues.'
At the time of writing the Gabby Petito hashtag on the social media behemoth stands at 355 million views with the top videos titled "Gabby Petito last text message sent" and "Gabby Petito update."
These content creators aren't journalists, or detectives. They're 'concerned' citizens who have been picking apart Gabby's social media accounts and movements, trying to work out if there are hidden meanings and messages the police have missed.
TikTok is blowing up with 'theories' and 'investigations' and debate about certain social images and police details. Image: TikTok.
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