Abstract
Advances in internet technology have offered people the opportunity to transcend geographical
barriers and connect with like-minded others about their shared interests. These advances have
contributed to the blurring of lines between consumers and producers of information, giving
rise to new forms of cultural production where fans can experience interpersonal bonds and
construct collective identity in cyberspace. One type of participatory culture, which focuses on
crime, is true crime fandom. This cultural production brings a participatory cyber activity
called ‘internet sleuthing’ in which private citizens, known as ‘amateur detectives’, ‘internet
sleuths’ or ‘web sleuths’, spend their time (free or otherwise) investigating true crime. Such
sleuths create and get involved in online communities through which publicly available
information is gathered to solve crimes, reinvestigate cold cases, or discover the true identities
of unidentified bodies. This study aimed to explore and describe internet sleuthing by
investigating and theorizing it as it has unfolded and been enacted in cyberspace. Although
there is available research and theory on fandom and rudimentary literature on internet
sleuthing, which is demonstrative of broad concepts, this has been explored within disciplines
such as philosophy, media studies, and criminology. Against this background, as well as to
contribute to introducing ideas across disciplines, this study investigated the phenomenon of
internet sleuthing from a sociopsychological stance as it unfolds and is enacted in cyberspace.
Written in article format, this thesis contains four self-contained manuscripts. This is
accompanied by two sections: The first is a section that introduces the study (along multiple
dimensions) by being placed before these manuscripts; the second is a concluding section that
presents a general discussion and an integration of the findings from the manuscripts. The four
research questions, as addressed through four manuscripts, and which broadened out the aim
were: (1) How is internet sleuthing as a cyber phenomenon enacted online?; (2) What is the
fascination of online sleuthing and solving crimes for the internet sleuth?; (3) How do internet
sleuths talk about and position other role-players within the online world of internet sleuthing?;
and (4) How are internet sleuths positioned in the phenomenon of internet sleuthing?
Manuscript 1 addressed the first research question. Based on sleuths’ investigations of the
Gabby Petito case on Websleuths.com, it aimed to build a theory of how the internet sleuthing
phenomenon is enacted online. The ‘Gabby Petito’ case became international news in
September 2021 after Petito went missing during a cross-country trip in the United States of
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America, garnering attention from internet sleuths who became devoted to searching for clues
about her whereabouts in the hopes of finding her alive. Discussions of this case in
Websleuths.com threads were subjected to abbreviated grounded theory analysis. The core
category, a care network spurred on by media links within technology governance, allowed the
building of a ‘humanizing forensics theory’ that showed discursive digital community
processes filled with never-ending posts that maintain and motivate sleuthing endeavors.
Manuscript 2, in answering the second research question, used first-person sleuth narratives
from archival sources to build a theorization of the fascination of internet sleuthing. This
grounded theory analysis revealed a sociopsychological activity that enables sleuths to find a
welcoming place in an online community. Fascination, as the concept that was the object of
the theory-building, was found to have been explained in sleuths’ use of popular metaphors
and lay psychological discourse. The sleuths’ fascination and curiosity were found to rely on
the online detectives being drawn into, and then becoming immersed in, the world of true
crime. The idea of ‘falling down the rabbit hole’ illustrated sleuths’ curiosity and risk-taking
proclivities. This immersive experience was also characterized by lay psychological terms such
as ‘obsession’ or ‘addiction.’ A heightened self-reflexivity was found to shape this
cyberpsychology, a psychological process that resonated with the biographies of like-minded
persons in an online community. The core category, ‘A kind of quiet beacon so we could spot
each other in the wild’, allowed for the building of what was called ‘radar theory’, that is,
sleuths seek out safety and connection in an online community that offers kinship and support.
Manuscript 3, responding to the third research question, aimed to describe and explore the
place of the role-players (other sleuths, law enforcement, mainstream media, victims, suspected
perpetrators) in internet sleuthing. To this end, this study subjected archival sources (e.g.,
YouTube videos, documentaries) to a subject-positioning analysis of the first-person utterances
of sleuths contained in those texts. The following subject positions were found to represent the
inhabitants of the sleuthing cyberworld: the incompetent police, the closet collaborators, the
elusive perpetrator, the grateful family, the private family, the selfless collaborators, and the
glory seekers. In the sleuths’ talk about others, fellow sleuths were positioned as team players
or mavericks. Notably, the police, when positioned as incompetent, were avoided by sleuths
who kept clues hidden about unsolved cases: In this instance, sleuths display their discursively
constructed their greater competence as dedicated lay detectives in their being committed to
searching for the truth and finding answers to unsolved cases. Policy makers for law
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enforcement should consider these relational dynamics to ensure safer investigative processes
and legal proceedings that should not be contaminated by sleuths’ personal bias. A balance is
needed in managing the tasks of upholding justice, maintaining public engagement and
transparency, and protecting the integrity of crime investigations.
Manuscript 4, which brought the fourth research question into the thesis, aimed to explore how
sleuthing role-players talk about and position sleuths. Archival sources (e.g., YouTube videos,
web forums, documentaries) were selected for subject-positioning analysis. The positions that
different role-players accorded to sleuths were: the suspicious competitors, the glory seekers,
the obsessed thrill-seekers, the ‘Behind-the-Scenes’ helpmates, and the psychologically
empowered sleuth. Sleuths were positioned favorably when they were found to use their
collective efforts to help solve crimes and seek justice. Other sleuths seek fame, recognition,
or competition, which are deemed to hinder sleuthing endeavors. Sleuthing networks and
online sleuthing platforms should consider these relational dynamics to foster collaboration
and ensure safer investigative processes for newer formations of crime governance.
Although the manuscripts offer insights independently about the phenomenon, the major
contribution is foregrounded when the findings across them are integrated. A paradigmatic
contribution is that a transdisciplinary approach—as a novel and final thesis outcome—is able
to be shown when a comprehensive (whole) picture of the phenomenon of internet sleuthing is
considered to ensue: This is brought about by bringing together the findings from the four
studies. Furthermore, this study offers insights into the phenomenon and its real-world
implications. Policy-makers and stakeholders in crime governance might consider the
relational dynamics between sleuths and other role-players to ensure safer investigative
processes and legal proceedings. In this way, a balance can be found between leisure (fandom)
and professional (detective work) pursuits, As well, structures and technology set-ups can be
implemented for all actors (legal systems, law enforcement, and sleuths) so that sleuthing
endeavors can be practiced safely and ethically.