By Daysia Tolentino - NBC News
Since early March, Ken Waks, a TikTok creator with a million followers, has been investigating a possible serial killer who has performed in several cities in the United States.
Waks claims that someone – or a group of people – has chased men who returned at night to their homes from bars or clubs and then murdered them and dumped their bodies in rivers across the country.
However, Waks has come under scrutiny, and other TikTok users now refer to this controversy as the "Kentroversia."
Ken Walks.Ken Walks via TikTok ; Getty Images
As has happened with many successful productions that focus on crimes, his series of videos on TikTok garnered many supports and millions of views. But many viewers became suspicious when, in late April, Waks posted videos claiming that a private investigator had shown up at his home and recruited him to be part of a team investigating "happy-faced killers."
That case is a theory alleging that one or more killers murdered and threw dozens of men into rivers; the investigation into that case was led by former NYPD detective Kevin Gannon (the series Smiley Face Killers recently premiered on Oxygen, on the NBC Universal network, to which Noticias Telemundo belongs).
"The stories started to get so big that I had to research them," said Meredith Lynch, a pop culture TikToker with 227,000 followers, referring to Waks' videos.
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Lynch and other netizens began expressing skepticism when they noticed Waks mentioning Foresyte, a social calendar company where he worked as a marketing director, in two videos about his research. Critics questioned his motivations, sparking a debate about ethics.
Content enthusiasts argue that they can draw attention to unreported cases and help investigators. However, detractors of TikTok investigations have grown tired of that genre because they argue that it can inhibit investigations, exacerbate the pain of families and profit from other people's traumas.
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In an emailed statement, Waks told NBC News he started his series because he wanted to raise awareness of a potential public safety issue in Chicago. He said an individual approached him on two occasions trying to lure him into a car, while he was returning home after having been in a bar. NBC News reviewed the police report Waks filed about the incidents.
"I quickly learned that this was happening to a lot of other people in the Chicago area and elsewhere," he said. "I started collecting information and sharing it online, as well as with law enforcement, private investigators and other authorities in an attempt to raise awareness about these crimes," he said.
NBC News reviewed emails sent by a spokesperson for Waks that appear to show communications he had with Gannon and Detective Jordan Scherer about their investigation.
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Scherer, owner of R.A. Private Investigation and Security, confirmed in a phone interview that he contacted Waks to see if his research could be helpful. He also clarified that his team was not working in partnership with Waks. "He and his team are offering us data that may be useful in our investigations into these suspicious deaths," he said.
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After seeing a message on social media from the director of Foresyte, which was subsequently deleted, viewers began to wonder if Waks' series was nothing more than a marketing ploy to drive traffic to that company. The post praised Waks for integrating Foresyte into his viral content, which included videos about the investigation.
On Saturday, a Foresyte spokesman said Waks and the company have made an "amicable decision to part ways." The statement came days after the spokesperson had said that Waks' "work and involvement in that case is entirely his and our company is not involved in any way."
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"We have never monitored or ruled on employees' personal social media accounts, and while we were initially excited about the potential increase in visibility and even celebrated it on LinkedIn, we have since learned all the details of the situation and made sure employees understand the importance of maintaining a clear separation between our company and their personal affairs in any public forum." A Foresyte spokesman said in an emailed statement last week.
Justin Burnett, a TikToker with 15,000 followers, said Waks "became an example" but believes the incident is "something people can learn from."
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"This is one person who influences 1.1 million people, his reach is gigantic," Burnett said. Since then, Waks' number of followers has dropped to one million, amid the fallout from his research.
Burnett, a military police veteran with investigative experience, was initially optimistic about Waks' series on TikTok. However, after Waks stated that he had "solved the case," Burnett felt that some of his claims didn't add up and warned that content creators "gain influence from other people's misfortunes."
"When you do those things, you actively impede police logistics. People get hysterical, hotlines are flooded with calls and it's very difficult to process that information," she said.
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Burnett also said grieving families, who are still searching for answers about their deceased loved ones, may find videos like Waks' insensitive. And he said creators need to ask themselves, "Is what I'm doing causing harm?"
Burnett, Lynch and other critics have argued that Waks' videos harm the families of the deceased men included in their investigation. Jane Polhill, whose son Jay died in 2010 in Chicago, agrees with that.
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Since her son's body was found in Chicago's Calumet River 13 years ago, Polhill has been searching for answers about his death. One day she stumbled upon the Waks series while browsing TikTok, and thought it might help her.
"My husband told me... Don't get your hopes up. Because, in our experience, when you get excited then you end up disappointed," Polhill said in a telephone interview.
Despite that, Polhill emailed Waks information about his son, and says he realized he had added Jay's name to his public database.
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However, he said his emails went unanswered. Desperate for information about her son's death, she said she paid $30 to have a 15-minute meeting with Waks, an option offered through a link in her biography.
But Walks didn't show up, so Polhill said she felt cheated, angry and embarrassed.
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A spokesman for Waks said he "missed that appointment due to a faulty schedule and contacted the mother to apologize." The link to buy time in the Waks calendar appears to have been removed.
"He was willing and wanted to meet with her," a representative for Waks said. Polhill confirmed that Waks apologized and that she received a refund. However, he said he did not believe the investigation was "truthful or sincere." He added that he hopes other parents don't try to get Waks' help.
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Polhill said he believes a more ethical way to approach investigations is to include affected families from the start.
"I think communication between the creator and families is essential. Because some families are going to say yes and others are going to say no, and that has to be respected," he said.
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After receiving reactions online, Waks made a TikTok on Thursday announcing that he will stop his research. "My reporting on this issue has become a contentious topic and I now realize that it is not my place to continue pursuing this story, despite my own personal connection to the two attacks I suffered," he said.
Waks went on to say that he "tried to cover a lot" in the investigation and "got lost" in the investigations. He also apologized to the families affected by his series and for incorporating his company into the content.
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In an emailed statement, Waks said he was turning over his information to authorities: "As far as the case is concerned, throughout this process I have been in contact with the Chicago Police Department about my findings and am working closely with a team of private investigators in order to turn over all the data and work I have done over the past two months to ensure that can use their time and resources to give this case the attention it deserves."
