The internet has a way of turning a normal afternoon into a frantic search for answers. Lately, everyone is typing some variation of "23 year old beauty influencer shot tiktok" into their search bars, trying to figure out what actually happened, who it was, and if the headlines are even real. It’s a mess. When a creator with a massive following suddenly becomes the subject of a crime report or a tragic accident, the vacuum of information gets filled with rumors faster than you can hit refresh.
You’ve seen the thumbnails. They’re usually grainy, high-contrast, and designed to make your heart race. But behind the clickbait is a real person.
The story involving a 23-year-old beauty influencer being shot while filming a TikTok isn't just one isolated incident; it’s actually a recurring nightmare in the creator economy that points to a much larger issue regarding creator safety and the risks of public-facing careers. Specifically, many users are currently referencing the tragic case of Ali Abulaban, known as JinnKid, and the shooting of his wife, Ana Abulaban, who was a rising 28-year-old influencer, though the "23-year-old" search term often conflates various high-profile creator tragedies from the last few years.
Why This Specific Story Keeps Surfacing
Digital memory is weird. A story from two years ago can feel like it happened yesterday because of the way TikTok's "For You Page" (FYP) recirculates old content. People are often looking for the story of Areline Martínez, a 20-year-old who was accidentally shot while filming a "kidnapping" prank for TikTok in Chihuahua, Mexico. While she wasn't 23, the details of her death became a blueprint for the "influencer shot while filming" narrative that continues to haunt the platform.
There is also the 2024 case of a younger creator in the US who was caught in a drive-by shooting while livestreaming. These events blur together in the collective consciousness. When you hear about a 23-year-old beauty influencer shot on TikTok, your brain tries to piece together fragments of different news cycles.
It's honestly terrifying how quickly a lifestyle of "Get Ready With Me" (GRWM) videos and winged eyeliner tutorials can collide with real-world violence.
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The Reality of Influencer Safety in 2026
Being a beauty influencer used to mean sitting in your bedroom and talking to a ring light. Not anymore. Now, it’s about "vlogging in the wild." This means creators are constantly broadcasting their locations in real-time. If you’re a 23-year-old with a million followers, you aren't just a person; you’re a target.
Privacy is basically non-existent for top-tier creators.
Experts in digital security, like those at Digital Shadows or specialized firms that protect high-net-worth individuals, have noticed a massive uptick in "IRL" (In Real Life) stalking. When an influencer posts a TikTok from a specific cafe or shows the view from their apartment window, it takes a dedicated stalker about five minutes to find their exact coordinates using Google Earth.
The Psychology of the "Perfect" Victim
Why does the internet obsess over these specific stories? There’s a psychological component called the "Missing White Woman Syndrome" or, more broadly, the fascination with "trouble in paradise." When a young, successful, and conventionally attractive beauty influencer is involved in a shooting, it disrupts the curated perfection of our feeds.
It feels personal.
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You’ve watched her put on moisturizer for six months. You know her dog’s name. You know her favorite shade of lip gloss. When the news breaks that she’s been shot, the parasocial relationship creates a sense of genuine grief and a desperate need for "updates." This is why you see those "Part 1 of 50" TikTok series explaining the "truth" behind the shooting. Most of them are just people reading Wikipedia pages for clout.
The Problem with True Crime TikTok
We have to talk about the "True Crime" side of TikTok. It’s a bit of a double-edged sword, honestly. On one hand, it keeps cases in the public eye. On the other, it turns real human tragedies into "content."
When a 23-year-old influencer is shot, the True Crime creators descend. They analyze the reflection in her sunglasses. They look at the background noise of her last TikTok for "clues."
Sometimes they’re right. Usually, they’re just speculating.
In the case of the San Diego shooting involving the Abulabans, the digital footprint was massive. Ali Abulaban had been documenting his descent into paranoia and jealousy on his own social media channels before the tragedy occurred. The "content" became the evidence. This intersection of social media fame and domestic violence is a dark corner of the influencer world that many people choose to ignore until a headline forces them to look.
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How to Verify These Stories Without Getting Scammed
If you see a video claiming a 23-year-old beauty influencer was shot on TikTok, don't just take the voiceover at face value. AI voice clones are everywhere now. They can make a "news report" sound incredibly convincing.
- Check the major outlets first. If a massive influencer was actually shot, it won't just be on a random TikTok account with 400 followers. Look at NBC News, The New York Times, or BBC.
- Search the specific name. Most of these "news" TikToks use vague terms like "23 year old influencer" because if they named a real person who wasn't shot, they’d get sued for defamation. If there’s no name, it’s probably fake or a "composite" story designed to farm views.
- Verify the date. As mentioned before, the TikTok algorithm loves to serve you "fresh" videos that are actually three years old. Look at the comments. If people are saying "RIP" from 2022, you’ve been caught in a time loop.
The Legal Fallout and Platform Responsibility
What is TikTok doing about this? Not enough, arguably.
The platforms are in a tough spot. They want the engagement that comes with "breaking news," but they struggle to moderate the sheer volume of misinformation. When a shooting occurs, the video itself—if it was captured on a livestream—is often re-uploaded thousands of times.
Law enforcement agencies, like the LAPD or the FBI's Cyber Division, have increasingly used TikTok data to solve these crimes. Geotags, timestamps, and even the "Live" comments can provide a literal second-by-second timeline of an event. But for the family of the victim, having their loved one's final moments played on a loop between a dance challenge and a sourdough starter video is a special kind of hell.
Actionable Steps for Online Safety and Literacy
If you are a creator—or if you’re just someone who spends a lot of time consuming this kind of news—there are real ways to protect yourself and your mental health.
- Delay your posts. If you’re a beauty influencer filming on location, do not post until you have left that location. This is the #1 rule of safety. The "23-year-old influencer" stories almost always involve someone knowing exactly where the victim was in real-time.
- Audit your "Background Clues." Before hitting upload, look at your windows. Can you see a street sign? A unique building? A specific storefront? If yes, blur it or crop it.
- Curate your feed. If you find yourself spiraling into "Tragedy TikTok," long-press on the video and hit "Not Interested." The algorithm is a mirror; if you keep looking at influencer shootings, it will keep showing them to you.
- Support Real Journalism. If you want to know the "truth" about a case, read the court transcripts or the police reports. Don't rely on a "True Crime" creator who is trying to sell you a VPN or a subscription box in the middle of a video about a murder.
The fascination with the 23-year-old beauty influencer shot TikTok story is a symptom of our era. We are obsessed with the downfall of the "perfect" life. But behind the screen, these are real families and real lives.
Stay skeptical. Stay safe. And remember that the most "viral" version of a story is rarely the most accurate one.