The FBI is Officially Targeting True Crime Fans
They say that participating in the “True Crime Community” could be an “indicator of criminal activity.”
Published 1 month ago in Wtf
The true crime genre has exploded in popularity over the past decade. But if you’re a fan, you may want to delete your favorite podcast and quit your book club — because the FBI is coming for you.
An FBI alert shared by Dan Boguslaw details the agency’s new policy. In short, the FBI has defined a group they’re calling the “True Crime Community,” which includes people who discuss criminals online through Facebook groups, WhatsApp messages or Reddit threads.
On the surface, investigating some members of this group might makes sense. The report specifically notes how some major criminal events of the past decade have been inspired by previous events, and that many of the perpetrators had posted about their plans online beforehand.
However, as Boguslaw points out, the definition of this community is very broad. While the report acknowledges that much of these discussions are covered by the First Amendment, it further states that local and state law enforcement should report any affiliation with “True Crime” or the “True Crime Community” to the FBI.
“By engineering a threat vector that just so happens to include a massive group of people (the True Crime subreddit alone counts over 3 million members), the bureau is able to use the violent crimes of a few psychopaths to justify dragnet surveillance of an entire population,” Boguslaw argues.
So, to all the members of the True Crime Community: congratulations! You’re now officially on the FBI’s radar. How does that feel?