TikTok is filled with dark jokes and conspiracies about a notorious child kidnapping case

AP

Madeleine McCann went missing during a family holiday in the Algarve region of Portugal.

• TikTok is riddled with dark jokes and conspiracies about Madeleine McCann, the British girl who vanished on a family vacation in 2007 and has never been found.
• Clips featuring hashtags associated with McCann's disappearance have received almost 5 million views.
• In videos seen by Business Insider, users joked about having McCann's body in their fridge and suggested she might be trapped in Area 51.
• One earned more than a million views by uploading an 11-part series of conspiracy theories about McCann's whereabouts.
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TikTok is best known as the viral video app that is home to wholesome dance memes, but it turns out it has a dark side.

Videos featuring jokes and conspiracy theories relating to an famous kidnapping case have been viewed millions of times.

Madeleine McCann is the British girl who went missing during a holiday with her family in Portugal, at the age of just three. Parents Gerry and Kate McCann were having dinner at a nearby restaurant while Madeleine and her siblings - then two-year-old twins - slept in the rented family apartment. During the evening, Madeleine's parents discovered she had vanished.

Her mysterious disappearance prompted an international manhunt and an outpouring of public support and concern. Hers is one of the most famous missing person cases in the world and, 13 years later, she has not been discovered.

Ever since she went missing, the McCanns have faced intense media scrutiny, with an onslaught of cruel jokes and conspiracy theories surrounding their daughter's disappearance - which have now made it onto TikTok.

TikTok users have watched Madeleine jokes and conspiracy theories nearly 5 million times

At the time of writing, videos using the hashtags #MadeleineMcCann, #MadelineMcCann and #MaddieMcCann have been seen almost 5 million times.

One user, @scarlett_millsx, went so far as to share an 11-part series of videos on the subject, earning her around 1.6 million views.

TikTok

Thousands of videos use conspiracy theories or jokes to gain clout

Her videos outline conspiracy theories that cast doubt on the McCann family's version of events in 2007, while also questioning how funds raised to help them search for Madeleine were used.

Speaking to Business Insider, Mills told Business Insider: "A lot of people wanted me to carry on the series because they found it both fascinating and bizarre.

"Because TikTok's audience... is predominantly teenagers or children [I think] they can connect to Madeleine's case - because they're a similar age.

"I didn't create these theories, I just shared what I found...

"The theories are endless. When someone is given a mystery... it's always going to fuel conspiracy."

Other videos seen by Business Insider saw users joke about having Madeleine's body in their fridge, her being trapped in Area 51, and her "lying low" because she owed money to gangsters.

A popular motif includes impersonating Madeleine while miming the lyrics of Bobby Caldwell's "What you won't do for love", specifically: "I bet you wondered where I've been".

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The McCanns have faced numerous court battles over press intrusion

Back in 2007, Madeleine and her family became a shared national obsession in the UK, with theories around her whereabouts and faux updates on the family's search regularly splashed on the front pages of newspapers.

Over the years, as hope of finding Madeleine dwindled, her story became a kind of parable repeated by parents up and down the country, warning of what might happen to their children if they wandered off at the grocery store.

But as Madeline faded from the headlines, it slowly became more acceptable - in some circles - to make jokes at her and her family's expense.

In 2014, the family's spokesman branded the irreverent party game Cards Against Humanity "deeply offensive" for featuring her as an answer.

"For the makers of the game to make light of a missing child is beyond offensive," he said.

"They should reconsider what they're doing and all Madeleine references should be cut out of future editions."

Meanwhile national newspapers like the Daily Express wrote articles claiming the McCanns were "hiding a big secret", as well as false claims of sleeping pills and syringes being found in their apartment. In short, mainstream media promoted conspiracies about the McCanns, whose plight predated the widespread use of social media.

It isn't clear that this kind of content breaches TikTok's guidelines, though these describe the app as an "inclusive platform" which will not allow "misleading information" which may cause harm. It is not clear where conspiracy theories fall within these guidelines.

The McCann family has been forced to fight off intense public pressure over the last decade, and has alleged press intrusion.

In 2018, Gerry McCann said he had "no confidence" in the British government after it officially closed an inquiry into the way the British media operates.

Last year, Netflix released the documentary "The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann" without the couple's involvement.

Business Insider approached TikTok, Scarlett Mills and the Find Madeleine campaign group for comment.

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