TikTok’s Witchhunt for Cheaters Sparks Outrage
The internet is abuzz with an internet storm sparked by a June 24 video shared by TikTok user @carolinerened showing a man on a United Airlines flight. Although the video itself doesn’t reveal much, the accompanying caption exposed the man’s alleged infidelity to his wife, and the internet response has been overwhelming. The doxxing of the man and his wife, along with thousands of views and comments, resulted in the man deleting his social media profiles.
The latest incident is part of an increasingly common phenomenon on TikTok where strangers sleuth out and publicly shame people accused of infidelity. This trend has sparked debates on social media, with some users calling it justice, while others express concerns over privacy and the harmful consequences of such exposure.
“The cheaters are inevitably shamed, their partners are informed, and the whole world can watch the breakdown of a relationship on their feeds. What would ordinarily be a private situation is suddenly more public than ever,” argues a user on X. But many others argue that this kind of sleuthing is a severe betrayal of privacy, which can subject couples to public scrutiny and ridicule.
This phenomenon is reminiscent of “Couch Guy,” a college student who became the subject of a similar internet witchhunt after a girlfriend accused him of infidelity. According to the student, Robert McCoy, “it felt like the entertainment value of the meme began to overshadow our humanity” as strangers investigated his personal life extensively online.
The issue ultimately raises questions about the consequences of prioritizing entertainment over privacy and the perils of a lack of empathy online. While holding others accountable is noble, the method used in this incident seems anything but.
