Recent debates have moved out of the courtroom and sparked a nationwide conversation about postpartum symptoms, the United States healthcare system and the roles these two things played in Lindsay Clancy’s triple homicide case.

But some of these conversations have instead devolved into conspiracy theories and reckless internet sleuthing.

Massachusetts Superior Court Judge William Sullivan declared a mistrial in Lindsay Clancy’s case on Friday after a monthlong trial and 38 hours of deliberations by the jury.

Over seven days, jurors could not reach a unanimous decision on a verdict for Clancy, the mother who is accused of murdering her three children in the basement of their Duxbury, Massachusetts home in January 2023, according to court documents.

The case has been debated in the courtroom with the prosecution arguing in opening statements that Clancy “acted intentionally, rationally and swiftly to accomplish a very specific goal” when she killed her children. Her defense argued that she should not be held criminally responsible as a result of postpartum psychosis.

TikTok and Instagram posts with hundreds of thousands of views have made accusations that Clancy’s ex-husband, Patrick Clancy, is the true perpetrator. This is despite the fact that Clancy and her defense team have not disputed the murder accusations against her.

Social media users have cited Patrick Clancy’s time spent at work, remarriage to a new wife and his body language in court as evidence of a preconceived plan to kill Clancy and their kids. These users believe that since Clancy survived, her ex-husband had to frame her for it.

Theories like these are not only harmful to those that they target, but they also derail productive conversations about important topics.

Postpartum psychosis affects between 320 to 9,400 births a year, according to the Cleveland Clinic, and aspects of the diagnosis are still poorly understood.

These are the parts of the case people should be focusing on.

While it is up to a jury to decide how these factors impacted Clancy’s behavior, the fact that they are being debated raises serious questions about how future cases of postpartum psychosis should be handled and how mental health professionals can best treat their patients.

If discussion remains focused on sensationalized claims and false narratives, these questions will never be answered.

Instead of falling victim to and spreading misinformation, social media users need to recognize conspiracies like these for what they are and do the work to stay informed about what is really happening.

It might establish a set of basic facts that can be agreed upon about Clancy’s case. And it may allow them to better understand postpartum psychosis and similar conditions.