Despite the nature of his death, officials stated that there was no immediate evidence of foul play, according to 11Alive. Investigators have largely pointed toward suicide as the cause of death, a conclusion that has been met with immediate and fierce resistance from social media users.

Authorities say the case remains open as they await the medical examiner’s final autopsy report, but that reassurance has not calmed scepticism online.

A significant portion of the online discourse has focused on the perceived lack of mainstream media coverage during the week Bassinga was missing. Advocates argued that if a white student had disappeared under similar circumstances, the story would have been national news immediately. That perceived silence has deepened public distrust of the institutions tasked with reporting and investigating the case

For many, the death of Kyle Bassinga cannot be viewed in isolation from the long and brutal history of lynching in America. Civil rights organisations have documented thousands of such killings in the 19th and 20th centuries, noting that these acts of terror were used to enforce racial hierarchies and social control.