The hashtag #Savemarinajoyce quickly gained traction as people began scouring her other vlogs for clues. They decided Joyce was also the victim of domestic abuse, a theory that swirled after fans referenced videos from the star bearing visible bruises on her arms and a weapon in the background of one of her videos.
A tweet claiming Joyce was using sign language to tell fans not to attend her meet up was retweeted almost 4,000 times.
In fact, two million tweets were written, Instagram accounts were dedicated to uncovering evidence and a fake Buzzfeed Community posted that Joyce was already dead.
Of course, it didn't help that a news outlet reported: "Fears teen blogger kidnapped + used by ISIS for London terror attack..."
Despite the YouTuber tweeting several times that she was in fact alive and well, fans concluded her hand was being forced by her captors. Their theory was spurned by the fact that Joyce was favouriting tweets speculating about her safety.
By this time, amid the furious fan investigations, myriad jokes were also circulating.
With the rest of the internet involved, it was only natural that Harambe - the ape shot after pulling a child into his enclosure - should be brought into the mix.
Finally, the theory moved from the digital world into the tangible, and police paid the YouTube star a visit at her home in Enfield.
Joyce later tweeted to reiterate that she was "totally fine".
Joyce's mother has since been interviewed, putting to rest at least a couple of theories:
"The gun is a toy gun, one of those BB guns - I've got other children," she told Mail Online.
"It was me speaking in the video. I was filming for her and I whispered 'stand LIKE me' not 'help me'."
"We're a private family really, this all just turned into a frenzy."
