As the trial of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother accused of killing her three children, starts to wind down, a now international discussion on social media about the case has hit a fever pitch as viewers examine details of the trial and question the state of maternal mental healthcare in the United States. Amateur sleuths and armchair psychologists have been creating content throughout the several weeks of the trial, pointing out perceived discrepancies in evidence. They’ve pointed to Clancy’s last recorded heart rate and body temperature as “smoking guns”, suggested that Patrick Clancy, Lindsay’s ex-husband and father of the children, actually committed the crime, despite no legal evidence to back up the claim.
Phillips noted the infamous 1893 trial of Lizzie Borden, in which Borden was tried and acquitted of the axe murders of her father and step-mother. The advent of mass media, facilitated by the rise of technologies such as the telegraph and trains, allowed people to increasingly become informed on what was going on outside of their small town or village. In recent years, high-profile cases such as the Johnny Depp v Amber Heard defamation trial, the murder of Gabby Petito, and the trial of Karen Read have all sparked frenzied conversation and conspiracy theories online.
Platforms like TikTok optimize for engagement as opposed to following, making it easier for content to reach a large audience quickly, which is what experts say we’re seeing in the Clancy case. Kathryn Coduto, assistant professor of media science at Boston University, agreed that social media algorithms are responsible for the heavy circulation of content surrounding the trial, including misinformation. Like, ‘Okay, if we keep showing this, people are going to stay engaged.’” Coduto also said that for many social media users, the Clancy trial allows them to participate in a dialogue as the case unfolds, fostering a sense of purpose and community.
Taylor Vaughn Lasley, a screenwriter and professor at Syracuse University, is one TikTok user who has sunk her teeth into the case. On 4 August, she posted a video pointing out three components of the case that she would highlight as narrative devices in a hypothetical show. Vaughn Lasley noted that Patrick Clancy did not immediately check on his kids after finding Lindsay incapacitated, how low Lindsay Clancy’s body temperature was when she was found, and that Patrick was now married to a doctor in New York City.
The video quickly went viral. Vaughn Lasley said that she built her following on TikTok making content analyzing current events and pop culture through the lens of a TV writer. While most of the response to her videos on the Clancy trial has been positive, she has also been accused of further sensationalizing the case.
These are real people’s lives.’ And I completely agree. Yes, these are real people. This is a real tragedy, and I have real expertise as a professional storyteller to analyze the stories that are being told,” she said.
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