Although I’d argue that the role of the internet group from “Don’t Fuck With Cats” was inflated in the documentary, as a lot of the progress in case was hand fed to the group, it did paint internet vigilantism in a somewhat positive light. Within the first episode however, there is a brief detour when the group flags a suspect incorrectly, even though that individual wasn’t connected whatsoever and had committed suicide prior to his identification.
I’m sure a lot of viewers who have been around Reddit long enough were reminded of the “investigation” that took place on this site for the suspects in the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing. For those not in the know, here is a fantastic Atlantic article on the failed manhunt.
TLDR: Internet sleuths on Reddit started a subreddit called r/findbostonbombers, where users investigated photo evidence and eventually came to the false conclusion that the perpetrator was a missing Brown University student, Sunil Tripathi, who had actually taken his own life.
This false ID brought a lot of pain and hurt to a grieving family and showed “the best and worst of Reddit’s potential”, and the dangers of internet vigilantism.
Submitted January 22, 2020 at 05:17PM by 92tilinfinityand https://ift.tt/2sQ4zWf
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