Last Sunday, I was hanging out with some friends, smoking cigars and drinking whiskey, and one of them asked if I had heard about the serial killer roaming around OKC defacing homeless people.
I think my immediate reply was:
“Is Carol Hefner on the loose again?”
After some quick chuckles, I came to learn my friend was being serious. I was then shown a TikTok video making the rounds and, well, I’ll let the OKC police social media accounts take it from here:
Geez. Remember back when the only social media rumors cops had to refute had to do with bands of sex traffickers targeting white women in Hobby Lobby parking lots?
Oh, how I miss the good old days.
Dale Denwalt with The Oklahoman did a deep dive into how the hoax originated. It’s a classic case study on how social media and algorithmic short-form video has rapidly plunged our society deeper and deeper into the gullible depths of idiocracy.
Dale learned the first person to address the rumor was some lady named Rebecca Luther.
She’s one of those people who still has a public Facebook account and spends her free time oversharing memes, cat photos, unsubstantiated serial killer rumors, etc.
Back in the day, we probably would have had a lot of fun at Rebecca’s expense and laughed about how a cat lady who went to four different southside high schools duped so many people into believing there was a serial killer around town collecting faces, but…
We’ve grown and matured, and – in all fairness to Rebecca – she was just repeating unvetted information that she felt was true.
It’s not her fault equally gullible people who will believe anything they read online helped share and spread it:
When reached by The Oklahoman, Luther said her post was based on an actual conversation she had with someone who made those claims. She only posted it to make sure her friends and family stayed safe, but didn't expect it to go viral.
"It doesn't bother me that people have shared it, but to add their own details is crazy to me," Luther told The Oklahoman.
I agree with Rebecca. It’s totally fine to amplify and spread someone’s lie, but when you start adding your own lies and embellishment, well, that crosses an idiocratic line.
In the case of the OKC Defacing Serial Killer, the biggest English language spreader of the rumor was some dude named Nehemiah Thompson.
He’s a UCO student, basketball referee, and aspiring social media influencer. When he first heard the sensational, unsubstantiated rumor that wasn’t grounded in any truth, he naturally hopped on his TikTok account – neonshoebox – to help amplify it.
Nehemiah’s quick video – which, once again, wasn’t grounded in any truth – reached 250,000 people and got a shitload of shares and, worst of all, comments.
If you want an inside glimpse at just how many brain cells short-form scrolling video has neutered from our collective neural network, check out some of the comments.
I’m not sure if they’re from real people – or simply overseas bots trying to rig the algorithm and promote false rumors – but Nehemiah was quick to interact, and it shows how quick and easy lies and misinformation can spread:
As the rumor spread online, people equipped with increasingly rare traits like “logical reasoning,” “critical thinking skills,” and “common sense” started leaving comments that questioned Nehemiah’s reporting.
They posed skeptical, inconvenient questions like “Uhm, why hasn’t this been in the news?” or “Why hasn’t law enforcement mentioned this?”
I guess these comments from the Buzz Killingtons of the world really ground Nehemiah’s gears, so he left another video where he doubled down.
In this one, he openly wondered “how stupid” some people could be, and then proceeded to explain the reason the OKC Defacing Serial Killer isn’t in the news is because the cops and media don’t want to create a COVID-like panic.
Yep, that’s right. The OKCPD and local media are not acknowledging the rumor because… they don’t want to cause a mass panic.
I guess that makes sense.
Even though law enforcement and the media are the two institutions that benefit most from a public panic, love nothing more than to capitalize on the fear and chaos they can generate, and keep secrets as well as a sewing circle, they’re working together to keep this story quiet so everyone will remain calm.
Oh, and we know all this because the guy who’s trying to create a mass panic by spreading false rumors online to get clicks and attention told us so.
In other news, maybe projection isn’t simply a GOP thing, but a dumb person thing.
There does seem to be a lot of overlap between the two.
For what it's worth, Nehemiah wasn't the only one spreading the rumor for likes and attention. There were plenty of copycat posters like this person:
Anyway, I guess I should wrap this up, lock my doors, and spend the rest of the day peeking through the mini-blinds looking for a defacing serial killer and/or social media influencer spreading lies.
If you see another wild, unverified claim online, let us know — or better yet, help spread and amplify it. You’ll get lots and lots of likes, and help keep our proud idiocracy running.
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
