On Sept. 8, the internet was sent into a flurry when news broke of a decomposed body found in a Tesla registered to singer David Anthony Burke, widely known as D4vd.
Burke was on tour when the car, reportedly sitting on a Los Angeles street, was discovered.
Immediately, the internet reacted.
Some defended Burke, saying he was innocent until proven guilty; others condemned him, including companies Hollister and Crocs who cut their sponsorships with him.
Burke didn’t comment, continuing to perform around the country and reportedly cooperating with police.
But, a week later, things went from bad to much worse for the artist.
On Sept. 17, the public received new information. The victim was Celeste Rivas, a 15-year-old girl who shared a matching tattoo with Burke.
The tattoo added a new wrinkle to the case, pointing to a potential relationship with the victim. After the news, social media users put on their detective hats and found multiple instances of Burke and Rivas together on livestreams and lyrics that could point to their relationship and the crime.
Rivas’s death is a tragic one, but it points to two of the biggest issues with social media and the internet as a whole.
Quick to react, quicker to retract
Burke’s situation exposes the internet’s constant need to be first. Social media allows anyone to have a platform to voice their assumptions, and they’re often early and wrong.
That’s where the danger comes. This case’s constant twists and turns remind us how easily narratives are formed online and how quickly conclusions can be drawn before facts are confirmed.
When celebrities and social media are involved, the rush to judgment can become a major factor in several situations. The investigation remains ongoing, and the public continues waiting for clarity.
Additionally, we often shift blame to celebrities who likely have nothing to do with the situation, which inherently distracts from the problem at hand. Singer Kali Uchis witnessed this firsthand as fans filled her comments with questions surrounding the controversy.
“[He’s] not my friend, I did a song with him which is currently in the process of being taken down given today’s disturbing news,” she said via Instagram.
While everyone has been playing detective, judge and jury, the biggest problem surrounding the situation was somehow lost.
See something, say something
In the weeks since the news broke, various photos and video clips of Burke with Hernandez circulated on social media, and his Discord community was discovered.
Some fans apparently knew about a potential relationship between the two, with one fan saying, “Release the song about Celeste, the girl who went missing.” Instead of questioning Burke or talking to the police, a moderator in the server banned the user.
As people looked closer, months-old Reddit and TikTok comments called out Burke for talking to a minor.
This is where the biggest problem resides.
When we see something, we need to say something—not to a Discord server or a Reddit community, but to the police and people who can help victims. Social media platforms like Discord and Reddit must be monitored more. It’s the only way to protect children and stop them from becoming victims of terrible crimes.
No charges have been filed, and Hernandez’s case remains unanswered.
Hopefully, the authorities can continue gathering evidence to bring Hernandez’s family the closure and justice they deserve.
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