The research has taken place in a frenzied context of attention from the British media and impromptu groups of conspiracy thinkers. In Facebook groups, one of which has more than 600,000 members, watchers tracked Slater's last known steps and searched for live feeds from Tenerife, hoping for a sign of him. A number of people, from climbing influencers to crime investigators, traveled to the island to help with the search.
“We are aware of the conspiracy theories and speculation on social media and some websites, and we can only describe this as vile,” Duncan said. “The negative comments are extremely distressing to our family.”
Still, Duncan, who did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and some of the teen's friends have welcomed some offers of help from TikTok searchers. But the flood of attention has also included many unfounded theories and conspiracies, with Slater's family telling British media they feared online speculation had hampered the investigation.
Administrators of a group who said they were in contact with the family criticized the spread of conspiracies on platforms such as TikTok.
Slater's employer, PH Build Group, said on Facebook last week that he had received harassing emails: “Everyone can have their own theories and feelings, but to post them publicly knowing you're going to hurt people is cruel”.
Tenerife authorities confirmed in an email on Tuesday that while the official search had ended, the investigation remained open until it was determined what happened to Slater.
“We just want to find him,” Duncan said.
Conspiracies can generate a lot of attention and engagement on social media, Cichocka said. Sharing them, he said, can make people feel like they're bringing order to a chaotic situation, even one they have no real involvement with.
“It's a coping mechanism that helps people deal with an unmanageable reality,” Cichocka said.
In the grand scheme of things, the number of people who are creating and sharing these theories is often small. But because of the speed with which misinformation spreads, small pockets can have immense influence.
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Other cases have also sparked intense online speculation. The family of Nicola Bulley, a 45-year-old woman from Lancashire, England, who died in 2023 after falling into a river, slammed the rampant theories on social media after her death, even after the A coroner's report found no involvement of third parties. . Bulley's family asked the public to “look at the facts, the evidence” and ignore the opinions of fans, adding that people should be “aware of the impact words have”.
In June, Greek authorities found the body of Dr. Michael Mosley, a British medical journalist and documentary filmmaker who authorities said likely died of natural causes. His disappearance prompted an intensive search on the Greek island of Symi.
This article originally appeared on The New York Times.
