The Depp v. Heard trial is just the beginning for live court cases turning into internet mass obsessions

• The defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard has captivated the internet for a month.
• Its dominance may also be shaping how social media is evolving.

The defamation trial between Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard has now captivated the internet for a month, with its intense fandoms, memes, and videos becoming ubiquitous on almost every platform. Its dominance may also be shaping how social media is evolving, as analyzing the intricacies of court cases and spectating trials emerges as a new genre of content.

Catalina Goanta, associate professor in private law and technology at Utrecht University, has been absorbed by the trial, and likened the attention it has received to the excitement of an eSports marathon. Goanta said she had previously seen legal YouTube channels react to courtroom dramas like "Suits," but watching every minute of a livestream of a court case is largely a new phenomenon.

"Generally speaking, if audiences perceive something as educational, people will not really watch it," she told Insider. "But the moment when there's any form of gamification or entertainment of that content, then it becomes much more enjoyable."

The Depp trial may herald a larger trend of content surrounding court cases and the legal battles of celebrities, experts told Insider, especially as those topics have proven to be able to bring in revenue for their creators, and draw billions of views.

The Depp trial is just the beginning of gamifying legal cases

YouTubers have rapidly amassed huge fanbases covering the trial. Alina "Alyte" Mazeika, who runs the channel LegalBytes and has 176,000 subscribers, and Emily D. Baker, a former LA District Attorney who now has 328,000 subscribers, have posted dozens of hours worth of live reaction and analysis videos as the trial has gone on, and seen massive success with hundreds of thousands of views on every upload.

Some of Baker's livestreams have had 25,000 people watching at once, she told Insider.

"It's been wild," said Baker, who has grown over 120,000 subscribers over the course of the trial. "I had people in my chat from all over the world every day."

TikTok is also blowing up with legal content, with creators like Lawyer Limor and Kevin Kennedy racking up followers and views while posting about Depp v. Heard. Some firms have started capitalizing on the surge in interest, such as Atlanta's Jonathan W. Johnson LLC, which has been advertising its services and giving out legal advice.

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Jenna Drenten, an associate professor of marketing in the Quinlan School of Business, who specializes in social media platforms, told Insider that there are essentially three trials going on: "the real trial, the televised trial, and the TikTok trial."

"One in the physical courtroom, one in the mainstream media with official coverage of the courtroom, and one in the shadows of social media with second-hand remixed trial outtakes," she said.

People have "an abundance of soundbites and video clips," to make into content, she added, meaning consumers are no longer just viewers, but active participants and commentators. A few years ago, the mainstream media controlled what would make it to the general public, and this would have been much harder

"I do think future public legal cases will continue to play out this way, especially when it comes to celebrities," Drenten said.

During Britney Spears' conservatorship case fans couldn't get enough, and an army of supporters showed up when it was finally time for Spears' appearance in court. While Spears was keeping quiet and posting cryptic messages and Instagram photos, fans "picked apart every single piece of her social media content," Drenten said.

"If her courtroom had been televised, we would have seen an abundance of lip-syncing and remixing on TikTok," she said.

What are these accounts going to do after the verdict?

The Depp-Heard trial is currently taking a 10-day break from testimony, and there are a few weeks left until closing arguments. Commentary is going strong, though, with videos continuing to be posted and TikToks still circulating. But the fascination won't last forever, which will mean accounts dedicated to supporting Depp and mocking Heard's lawyers will have to shift their focus.

According to Drenten, iterations of the 15 minutes of fame have occurred over and over again online, moving on when the news cycle does.

"Some of the people creating this content will be able to leverage their fame but most will fade from the spotlight," Drenten said. "My prediction is that a few of these accounts will become exclusively geared toward either pop culture commentary or legal hot takes, but most will not and they may not want to."

Modern influencer culture depends on making content consistently, establishing a niche, and generating demand. Those who have gone viral a handful of times in the last few weeks may "not be ready or willing to pursue content creation as a career," she added.

Taking sides in hotly contested topics will continue though, as will the rifts they create. We could see just as fierce fandoms coming out of the woodwork for future celebrity legal battles, Drenten said, just as they have for Depp — especially as people tend to seek out opinions that confirm their own biases, and platforms like TikTok do a very good job at providing that content.

"The internet and its often biased algorithms have more power than ever to pull people down a rabbit hole that supports their own beliefs," Drenten said. "And those rabbit holes are very hard loops to escape."