The idea of "snuff films" hit the media in the 70s. It was quite the thing for a couple of news cycles. Someone claimed that they had seen one and the media leapt to tell everyone that it just couldn't happen. No way would anyone make such a film! And if they did make a snuff film, they'd definitely be caught! And then the whole thing vanished.

As I got older and learned more about human nature (and how much life is worth in certain countries), I came to realize that it absolutely is possible. People will do anything for money. If you're in a country where kids can be sold into sex slavery, how far of a step is it to have them killed while someone films it? The same laws or moral code that might prevent such a thing in the West wouldn't apply because the criminals in places like SE Asia just wouldn't care.

But the media fell all over themselves to tell people that such a thing could never exist, which kind of makes me think that they knew all about it and were desperate to keep it hidden.