Media, Mayhem, and the Rise of the Web Sleuth

PHOTO BY DAVID VON DIEMAR

BY HEATHER HAMILTON-POST

Humans have long been interested in the inner workings of the criminal mind—fictional shows like Law & Order and CSI (as well as all of their spinoffs) fed our obsession, quickly giving way to true crime counterparts. Then the Serial podcast, which debuted in 2014, examined the death of Hae Min Lee and subsequent arrest of Adnan Syed, which made everyone think that they, along with Sarah Koenig, could crack the case. By 2021, television’s Only Murders in the Building poked fun at the abundance of armchair detectives solving crime from the comfort of their living room—average citizens who just wanted to help out, sure, but who were also deeply invested in the case, so ingrained in the mysteries that they inserted themselves directly into them.

Alexandra Duggan works as an investigative reporter and digital content producer at Boise’s KTVB.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALEXANDRA DUGGAN

Alexandra Duggan, a digital content producer and investigative reporter at KTVB, found her footing looking at local cold cases, eventually shifting to more investigative work. You’ve probably seen her around in the last few months—her follower count has grown by around 5,000 people as she’s provided details on high profile cases like the disappearance of Michael Vaughn and the quadruple homicide investigation in Moscow, Idaho that took the lives of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin, and Xana Kernodle on November 13, 2022.

The daughter of a former detective and an Idaho native, Duggan understands some of the inner workings of law enforcement and offers the unique perspective of someone who has lived and worked in the community. While she now reports from the Treasure Valley, she’s also a Vandal and, after a long week of reporting in the cold in Fruitland as law enforcement searched for the body of Michael Vaughn in a backyard near his home, she made the trip up north to cover the quadruple homicides.

PHOTO BY SAM MCGHEE

“When I was in Moscow, I was doing a live shot and I cried on TV. Everyone saw it. I was embarrassed at first, but I’m okay with it now because I’m not meant to be a robot,” she said. Duggan’s humanity is why she’s found a home in investigative journalism, a reliable reporter of information for local law enforcement and a trusted resource for those in the community, who frequently reach out with questions and information. Her commitment to her Ida-home is just one of the things that set her and other local media personalities apart from the hundreds of faraway folks looking to solve an Idaho case.

And let’s face it—in a world that engages so heavily in social media, the lines can blur. Some web sleuths, especially those with large platforms, consider themselves journalists too, but their code of conduct can be ambiguous. In an early press conference in Moscow, a TikTok personality misidentified herself as a reporter and proceeded to ask a rambling question that offered a theory of the crime. The press conference was open to the public, which made her claim even more perplexing, and while the misrepresentation didn’t harm anyone, it is a slippery slope.

The University of Idaho is located in Moscow, a quiet city in Latah County that shares a state border with Washington.

PHOTO BY ANDREW LANG

There are other instances in which amateur sleuthing derails the lives of innocent people. In the search for Michael Vaughn, police eventually blocked off the family’s street when people started contacting Vaughn’s family during the excavation of a nearby backyard. Following the quadruple homicide in Moscow, a number of individuals with proximity to the case began receiving death threats and being harassed at their homes. A University of Idaho professor is even suing for libel following accusations made by an internet sleuth who consults Tarot cards and performs other types of readings. Reddit is filled with individuals suggesting that they’ve got proof of someone’s guilt that amounts to nothing more than screenshots of other people’s comments and theories.

While Duggan said that internet sleuths aren’t trying to cause harm, there’s always the potential. “Sometimes people will ask why I’m not reporting something that hasn’t been corroborated from an official source—speculation versus the investigation versus police. It’s my duty to help sort through that. If I’m refraining from reporting something, it’s because I’m trying to remain ethical,” Duggan said. “Not everything is true.”

University of Idaho president C. Scott Green addressed the media after the Moscow Police Department announced that a suspect had been arrested in connection with the Nov 13 homicides.

PHOTO COURTESY MOSCOW POLICE DEPARTMENT

A person can be interested in a case, follow the case, hope the case gets solved, and even look for clues by reviewing the information and thinking outside the box, but doxxing people, driving by their homes, contacting potential witnesses, and making outrageous claims in public spaces only hurts investigations and potentially ruins lives. Duggan, and other reporters, are often overwhelmed by messages and requests. While these tips can be incredibly useful, they take careful vetting, both from the media and law enforcement.

Occasionally, someone will speak to Duggan off the record, which requires her to let the information guide her, but also to report responsibly. In less experienced hands, these types of tips can end up breaking trust and starting rumors, stoking the morbid curiosity that sometimes drives public interest in major investigations. “But we all need to step back and remember that these are real people, real victims with families that are missing them. When we focus on getting every last update and piece of information that may or may not be related, we lose sight of what really matters,” she said.

A crowd gathers for a press conference with the Moscow Police Department on December 30, 2022.

PHOTO COURTESY MOSCOW POLICE DEPARTMENT

These investigations impact the lives of real people—real victims, suspects, and bystanders that exist, and are often hurting, before and after these crimes are solved.

“Sometimes we have to accept that there are things that we’re not going to know. And neither is the public. The police aren’t going to talk because it could hurt the investigation, and sometimes journalists just have to be okay with that. We all want to know, but sometimes it just takes a little bit of time,” Duggan said.