The business of catching alleged child predators has moved from prime-time television to the wilds of streaming and social media, where a new generation of vigilantes is chasing clicks and cash. Chris Hansen, the face of the original To Catch a Predator series, now runs his own streaming service, Trublu, and his approach has inspired an estimated 160 or more copycat operations in the US alone. These groups often use similar decoy tactics, but without the guardrails of a network production, the results have become increasingly erratic and sometimes violent.
A 2025 New York Times investigation counted more than 170 violent attacks by predator-hunting groups since 2023, and a 2022 Washington Post report identified at least 160 active operations. Some hunters openly defend monetizing their work, as one streamer told MTV's Predators documentary: police detectives get paid, so why shouldn't they? But the evidence suggests many are driven more by virality than public safety. In one high-profile case, YouTuber Vitaly Zdorovetskiy publicly accused an innocent man of being a predator, and other stings have targeted people with severe intellectual and physical disabilities.
The ethical morass is the subject of A24's Primetime, a dramatized look at Hansen's world starring Robert Pattinson. The film, in theaters September 25, portrays Hansen as fame-hungry and dismissive of the consequences of his work, including the 2006 suicide of a Texas prosecutor who was confronted at home by police and a TV crew. While Hansen has said he doesn't regret that sting, the movie leaves the question open. For all the talk of protecting children, the business model depends on outrage and entertainment—and the people profiting are not always the ones being caught.