shades fills you in

America loves true crime. There’s even a convention called CrimeCon, for true crime superfans. CrimeCon features true crime merchandise and panels by true crime podcasters. Families of crime victims often make the trip, too

Defactor.com: What in God’s name is the appeal here? It feels like exploitative cop propaganda, is really disturbing, and involves a lot of pseudoscience

Right, says The Ringer: CrimeCon doesn’t handle the topic of true crime with nuance. That’s wrong, since crime is so complex

But per CrimeCon’s about page, the convention’s all about education and respecting the victims. Read it here

And maybe it really does do good? An online CrimeCon event held a live auction where proceeds go to a victims’ nonprofit

And BuzzFeed says CrimeCon might actually help solve cases? The family of two murder victims visited CrimeCon every year. Five years after the murders, an arrest was made in the case

Want to dive deeper into the ethics of true crime? Check out a title all about it here