In defense of the generally indefensible masses of reddit, Hansen is hardly a figure above criticism. Fetishizing vigilante justice, embracing of the far-right, his emphasis on spectacle without regard for the community, that time where they more or less killed a guy… Child molesters are horrible (tho why we keep electing them, I’ll never know), but we don’t need to hail and laud someone as our champion just because they agree.

Hansen’s documentary has an opportunity to shed light on online grooming as a pervasive problem endemic to all online spaces but instead appears to further his usual moral panic about how there’s people lurking behind the bushes, waiting to nab your children while they do the things they enjoy. His productions have never been better than any other schlock reality television, but with a veneer of legitimacy from his LARPing with law enforcement. Targeting a popular piece of pop culture, instead of an expose on say grooming rings on discord or the constant abuses of children from religious institutions as facets of the ever-increasing access children have to unmoderated online interaction seems to be just as morally vapid as his work has ever been.