Jay Slater: Online reaction to British teenager's disappearance slammed as inappropriate and insensitive

In comments to the Mirror, she said “People keep asking on social media ‘why aren’t I up there?’ and calling me the new Karen Matthews. I just can’t face it.”

Karen Matthews, 48, spent four years in prison after orchestrating the kidnapping of her daughter, nine-year-old Shannon Matthews, for financial gain.

Various conspiracy theories have been circulating on social media, with much of the criticism of the case focusing on the GoFundMe set up by Lucy Law, who was attending the festival with Jay.

The page has raised over £45,000, but many people online are suspicious of how the funds will be used. An update posted to the fundraiser on June 27 said some of the money was being withdrawn “to cover accommodation and food expenses.”

A Facebook group dedicated to finding the missing teenager has had over 600,000 people join. Posts on the page have theorised that Jay has joined a local tribe, that he is stuck to a cactus, or that he has been kidnapped by Hamas. Many of the posts are clearly satirical, making it harder for those genuinely trying to assist in the search. Others have suggested playing similar music to the festival he was at, and seeing if he is drawn to the music.

During Jeremy Vine’s talk show, the presenter read out a tweet saying: “Has the search party looking for Jay Slater tried shouting ‘Autoglass repair’? If he’s in the vicinity he will shout back ‘Autoglass replace’.”

The unsympathetic joke refers to the popular jingle used to advertise windscreen repair company Autoglass.

Vine was criticised online for contributing to the trolling indirectly, with an X (formerly Twitter) user saying “Vine knows exactly what he’s doing.”

Social media expert and PR adviser Rhea Freeman said: “There’s been a shocking amount of trolling and misinformation too- and all this has caused a lot of confusion to those who are following the story for genuine reasons, and implies that the people posting have knowledge which they don’t possess.

“This causes doubt and confusion and can dilute the genuine effort and circulation of useful information.”

She added: “There is a lot of crime based content on social media and I think being exposed to so much, so often, makes it easier to become desensitised and also for the lines between reality and fiction to become blurred.

“When we’re seeing factual and fictional content alongside each other, portrayed in a very similar way, it can be hard to tell the difference, particularly if you’re more shielded from the news and don’t know what is real.”

Jay, 19, from Lancashire, went missing on the morning of June 17 after staying at a remote Airbnb in Masca. The teenager had attended a rave the evening before and told a friend he had 1% battery on his phone and was attempting to make the 11-hour walk back to his accommodation.

Searches have now been called off by the Civil Guard, with a spokesperson stating: “The search operation has now finished although the case remains open.”