(NewsNation) — The unsolved killings of the four University of Idaho students has generated massive online speculation.
On TikTok, “#idahomurders” has more than 420 million views, which is more than there are people in the United States.
NewsNation has reported about online sleuths who pore over every detail, every photo, looking for clues that the real investigators might miss. The intention behind online sleuthing is typically genuine, but it can’t always be trusted.
This week, YouTuber Joseph Morris was accused of posting a fake video relating to the Idaho murders. In the alleged video, a neighbor of the murdered students is said to have made an audio recording of the murders as they were happening.
Many people thought the video was suspicious. As soon as they started asking questions, Morris apparently deleted the video.
YouTuber Melvin Cedeno debunked the suspicious audio and shows how it’s fake.
Cedeno told NewsNation’s “Banfield” that Morris took audio from another YouTuber, added breathing sounds and then manipulated the result to make it seem like it came from a distance.
Cedeno also accused Morris of fabricating the online news story that accompanied the video to make the narrative that much more believable.
This isn’t the first time Morris has been accused of meddling in a high-profile murder case. In September of 2021, at the height of the Gabby Petito mystery, he claimed Brian Laundrie was seen accidentally going live on Instagram while out on a boat somewhere.
Critics of Morris also claim he was called out on a Zoom meeting for posting damaging and false reports.