Sean Diddy Combs trial, a magnet for likes for TikTokers

Every day is the same routine : at the foot of the federal courthouse in southern Manhattan, television cameras from traditional media outlets compete with influencers who tell their legions of followers what's happening in the trial of hip-hop mogul Sean Diddy Combs.

Combs has been in the dock since May, accused of sexual assault and leading a prostitution ring.

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Like the rest of the press, content creators on social media platforms like TikTok , Instagram, and YouTube are only allowed in the room with a notebook and pen. Cameras, phones, recorders, and computers are prohibited in the building.

The only images are those made by the portrait artists in charcoal and chalk inside the room.

That's why, just like the press , influencers enter and leave the courthouse to report on what's happening inside, handing in and collecting their electronic devices at security checkpoints each time.

“I'm able to explore those small aspects of the case that people overlook because the mainstream has to focus on the main agenda of the day,” says Emilie Hagen, present on Instagram, TikTok, and Substack.

Some of her thousands of followers have made donations , which has allowed her to hire an assistant.

No journalists or influencers have been able to capture images of Combs , who enters and leaves the court through a private entrance.

However, members of the music mogul's family regularly appear in court, along with witnesses such as Kid Cudi, the rapper who testified that Combs's entourage set his car on fire, and Combs's ex-partner, singer and model Casandra Cassie Ventura, the star witness.

The presence of Kanye West , who arrived last week to support his friend , was a high point for the dozens of cameras waiting patiently outside the courthouse in search of something juicy.

The high-profile trial has allowed the young woman known on TikTok as KealoHalika to gain 10,500 new followers in just two days, bringing the total to 40,500.

"It's been crazy. There have been a lot of changes. It's definitely changed my life," she says.

Donat Ricketts , a 32-year-old artist living in Los Angeles , was present at other media trials such as that of Tory Lanez and A$AP Rocky , Rihanna's partner, in California.

He claims to earn between $8,000 and $10,000 a month from advertising revenue on YouTube (where he has 21,000 subscribers) and donations from fans.

"It's the first time I've traveled to another state to cover a case," says this content creator. "I feel like I'm on vacation, but I'm also able to work and earn money from it," he adds.

Unlike Hagen, Ricketts did not study journalism.

But he maintains that this case is a "turning point in which mainstream media realizes that independent journalists are a force to be reckoned with."

IT'S A GOOD STORY

According to a 2024 Pew Research Center study , one in five Americans gets their information from online influencers ; for those under 30, the percentage jumps to 37%.

Reece Peck, a professor of political communication and journalism at the City University of New York, calls the competition between content creators “Darwinian.”

"They're very afraid of losing their customers or their audience. And with that logic, that you have to constantly create content, the news cycle is a very attractive source of material," Peck reports.

And Combs' trial has all the makings of a good story: "Sex, violence, and celebrity."

“You can’t ask for more,” he adds.

Dozens of mainstream media outlets are covering and analyzing the trial.

To guarantee a spot in the courtroom where the trial can be followed on closed-circuit television, many media outlets hire people to wait in line all night.

But despite the extensive coverage from mainstream media and influencers, some prefer to see it in person, like Professor Val Solit, who is vacationing in New York and stopped by after eating in nearby Chinatown.