True crime obsession making us all heartless

News.com.au

14-07-2025

COMMENT
Social media has become a place for people to tell their own stories and amplify their voices — whether it's raising awareness about world events, something they have personally experienced or trying to raise money for a cause close to their hearts.
But, often, in order to go viral users will need to censor certain words to ensure their clip doesn't get 'shadow banned'. So, they eventually found a way around it.
Murder became 'unalive'. Rape and rapist became 'grape' and 'grapist'. Gun became 'pew pew'. Platforms such as OnlyFans became known as 'Schmonely Smans'.
Some social media users are now calling this out.
Why some people are angry
One creator, known as @i_am_a_kar, said that 'censorship had gone too far' and words such as suicide and murder had a place on the app if used in the right context.
'Can you imagine how f***ing disrespectful it would be if you were raped, murdered and shoved into a garbage can, only to have your death novelised by some podcaster with a valley accent,' he said.
'And then, when they refer to your murder they refer to it like this; 'Oh my god, and then she was SA'd and unalived and then they did [gun noises] and then they put her inside of a garbage can'.'
The content creator said the language was finding its way into everyday vernacular and soon, instead of saying cancer, we'll be saying things such as 'double plus alive unhealthy'.
'It is borderline offensive and spitting in the face of your user base if you do not allow certain phrases or words to be used if it is totally appropriate,' he said.
Fellow content creator Ezra Butler, known as @lemon.squezzy on social media, also took aim at censorship on social media.
'No, I do not consent to a podcaster casually saying I was graped and schmurdered with a pew pew if I was raped and murdered with a gun,' the content creator said.
'There's been a lot of discussion about censorship and whether it's appropriate to censor certain words — especially with topics such as rape and murder. These horrific incidents are no light matter and they're meant to be uncomfortable words.'
The musician did concede that if you are trying to make money off of these topics, use of the true phrasing would likely have the video become demonetised. But, Ezra questioned whether people should even be making money off of talking about these topics.
'True crime is a huge genre. It interests the masses and creators make a lot of money from it. Netflix are constantly putting out new true crime documentaries and it holds quite a big platform in that space,' Ezra said.
'Now, as a creator I don't want to profit from that kind of content.'
Why do we have censorship online?
Kate Scott, a PhD candidate at the University of Sydney, told news.com.au that platforms such as Meta and TikTok need to be selective when it comes to censorship.
'Social media platforms often construct themselves in such a way to absolve themselves of responsibility. You see it in the very name of 'platform' — they're a stage for users to engage in discussion, rather than actors themselves,' she said.
'Now we know that isn't true – they aren't these neutral platforms, at the end of the day, they are businesses and they are influenced by shareholders and profitability. As much as we may want the stage for public opinion and debate to be on some impartial public grounds, unfortunately, technology has made your local town square has become somewhat obsolete.'
She said due to the fact these conversations take place in private servers moderated by corporate interest, it makes these platforms somewhat responsible. But, during the pandemic we saw platforms crack down on 'Covid misinformation' due to government pressure. Them, these were loosened again after Trump's re-election.
When censorship is done correctly, it can safeguard marginalised groups and allow them space and freedom to share their stories or engage in connective action,' Ms Scott said.
'Social media has been incredibly influential in mobilising massive movements like BLM, #MeToo, even the Arab Spring. However, flawed censorship can have really horrific consequences. As a really clear example, we can look to Facebook's treatment of the Rohingya genocide in Myanmar.
'Instead of censoring violent commentary that encouraged ethnic cleansing, Facebook's algorithms allowed the vitriol to be spread across the platform. Not only that, but they profited off of the engagement. So there's absolutely a place for censorship online, as that often becomes one of the most effective management strategies for mitigating harms online.'
She said that censorship can also lead to extremist content, such as during the pandemic many anti-vaxxers took censorship of information as evidence of a conspiracy. It led to the rise in popularity of alt-tech groups such as Telegram. She said platforms such as this allow for unmoderated free speech in echo chambers, allowing ideologies such as Nazism to thrive.
'Likewise, the subreddit r/incels was banned in 2017 for inciting violence against women, but now many dedicated and unmoderated forums exist that discuss violence against women in an even more explicit and horrific manner,' she said.
The impact of censorship on social media
Ms Scott said 'algospeak' refers to when influencers and online commentators adapt their language to appease algorithm guidelines to avoid being demonetised or banned.
'If you're on any short form video platform, you'll often hear things like sex referred to as 'seggs', rape referred to as 'grape', murder referred to 'unalive', and so on and so forth,' she said.
'Particularly, as a lot of moderation online is automated (and increasingly so), this becomes a relatively easy way for people to discuss acts of violence or harm in a manner that won't see retribution from the platform.'
She said, unintentionally or otherwise, this kind of language sanitises the significance of what is being spoke about.
'At the end of the day, sexual assault isn't 'grape', it is rape and should be discussed in those terms, with the gravity of the language behind it,' she said.
'As an aside, I do believe part of the issue is the blurring of information and entertainment online, particularly when we talk about violence or the 'true crime' phenomenon.
'While we talk about these obscure algorithms controlling what the public sees and engages in, it's important to talk about how creators are rewarded for discussing horrific and shocking, in other words engaging, content. It has become increasingly common and desensitising as violent murders or crimes are discussed alongside someone's 'get ready with me'.'
Ms Scott said while she empathises with the fact that 'algospeak' can increase visibility on important issues, there is a cultural by-product to it. Ms Scott said the internet is a modern Wild West, and people are starting to engage more with it than in real life. This means it is impossible to moderate.
'As much as I would love to be the person with the perfect solution to online censorship, I think as technology develops, platform governance and policy must evolve as well,' she said.
'Investing more in effective content moderation is obviously the first place to start – including acknowledging that AI is not a neutral moderator (there is ample evidence to suggest that robots can have bias as well).'