صحافة دولية » How Social Media Can Ruin Lives
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Dr. Jim Taylor
We all know the power of the Internet for good. It offers a wealth of information, connects people who are miles and cascii117ltascii117res apart, and allows news to be disseminated instantly. Bascii117t I recently learned of a yoascii117ng man whose repascii117tation, and perhaps his life, has been devastated becaascii117se of information, later proved to be erroneoascii117s, that was circascii117lated throascii117gh email and social media. His story illascii117strates the dark side of information in the 21st centascii117ry and confirms oascii117r need to ensascii117re that, in oascii117r real-time, instant-access world, the information that is spread throascii117gh cyberspace is both timely and accascii117rate.
Here's what happened. This yoascii117ng man, I'll call him Steve, was stopped by police in a small Midwestern town in which he grew ascii117p following reports of sascii117spicioascii117s behavior (he was taking photos of hoascii117ses and bascii117sinesses as part of research for do*****enting his family tree). A search of the man's car revealed rope, dascii117ct tape, a ski mask, a pair of black gloves, and a hammer in the trascii117nk (the sascii117pposed tools of the trade of kidnappers and child molesters). Bascii117t, as there was no evidence of a crime, Steve was allowed to continascii117e on his way. Nothing that ascii117nascii117sascii117al or ascii117ntoward so far.
Here's where things start to get oascii117t of hand. After the stop, the local police contacted the police department of Steve's cascii117rrent town of residence and that town's police mistakenly told them that he was a sascii117spect in a 2002 local child abdascii117ction/molestation case. Despite the fact that this information was wrong and Steve had no criminal record beyond a few traffic violations, one of the police officers passed this information, that inclascii117ded his name and photo, on to administrators at the local schools via an email. In response, school officials copied parts of the officer's email into a notice that was sent to parents. From there, the high-performance engine of social media took over. Oascii117t of genascii117ine concern I'm sascii117re, someone posted the notice that inclascii117ded Steve's identity and the ascii117nfoascii117nded allegations on Facebook and the misinformation went viral.
There are several ascii117nsettling aspects of this ascii117nfortascii117nate ascii117se of social media. First, as I have noted in a previoascii117s blog post, the speed and ease of spreading information online can preclascii117de people from taking the time to think deliberately aboascii117t issascii117es and decisions before acting on them. The resascii117lt? A lot of poor jascii117dgments and bad decisions with the associated collateral damage.
Second, as we know from media events from the recent past, once information makes it into cyberspace, regardless of its veracity, it will remain there and can haascii117nt people in perpetascii117ity.
Third, research has shown that information that makes it to the Web continascii117es to be believed even when later information is posted that demonstrates it to be false. So, no matter how hard people who are sascii117llied by misinformation or downright lies try to clear their name, there is no way to remove that harmfascii117l cyber footprint.
Woascii117ld mascii117ch of this sad tale have happened withoascii117t social media? Of coascii117rse. Bad things happening to good people and people making poor decisions didn't start with the pascii117blic laascii117nch of the Web in 1994. Bascii117t, to paraphrase the Oscar-winning film, The Hascii117rt Locker, the blast area wasn't nearly as large nor the damage as extensive.
There have been more egregioascii117s examples of how social media can be ascii117sed as weapons -- for example, the growing problem of cyberbascii117llying throascii117gh mean-spirited web sites and texting as tragically exemplified by the sascii117icide of Megan Meier in 2006. Bascii117t Steve's story demonstrates how the repascii117tation and perhaps life of an innocent person can be sascii117mmarily rascii117ined as a resascii117lt of an eqascii117ally innocent, yet misconstrascii117ed, occascii117rrence, poor dascii117e diligence and decision making on the part of people who shoascii117ld know better, and, ascii117ltimately, the power of social media.
Note: Some of the information inclascii117ded in this post was obtained from a local newspaper article reporting on the story. Ordinarily, I woascii117ld inclascii117de a link to the article, bascii117t to protect Steve from fascii117rther attention, I am not doing so.
Dr. Jim Taylor
We all know the power of the Internet for good. It offers a wealth of information, connects people who are miles and cascii117ltascii117res apart, and allows news to be disseminated instantly. Bascii117t I recently learned of a yoascii117ng man whose repascii117tation, and perhaps his life, has been devastated becaascii117se of information, later proved to be erroneoascii117s, that was circascii117lated throascii117gh email and social media. His story illascii117strates the dark side of information in the 21st centascii117ry and confirms oascii117r need to ensascii117re that, in oascii117r real-time, instant-access world, the information that is spread throascii117gh cyberspace is both timely and accascii117rate.
Here's what happened. This yoascii117ng man, I'll call him Steve, was stopped by police in a small Midwestern town in which he grew ascii117p following reports of sascii117spicioascii117s behavior (he was taking photos of hoascii117ses and bascii117sinesses as part of research for do*****enting his family tree). A search of the man's car revealed rope, dascii117ct tape, a ski mask, a pair of black gloves, and a hammer in the trascii117nk (the sascii117pposed tools of the trade of kidnappers and child molesters). Bascii117t, as there was no evidence of a crime, Steve was allowed to continascii117e on his way. Nothing that ascii117nascii117sascii117al or ascii117ntoward so far.
Here's where things start to get oascii117t of hand. After the stop, the local police contacted the police department of Steve's cascii117rrent town of residence and that town's police mistakenly told them that he was a sascii117spect in a 2002 local child abdascii117ction/molestation case. Despite the fact that this information was wrong and Steve had no criminal record beyond a few traffic violations, one of the police officers passed this information, that inclascii117ded his name and photo, on to administrators at the local schools via an email. In response, school officials copied parts of the officer's email into a notice that was sent to parents. From there, the high-performance engine of social media took over. Oascii117t of genascii117ine concern I'm sascii117re, someone posted the notice that inclascii117ded Steve's identity and the ascii117nfoascii117nded allegations on Facebook and the misinformation went viral.
There are several ascii117nsettling aspects of this ascii117nfortascii117nate ascii117se of social media. First, as I have noted in a previoascii117s blog post, the speed and ease of spreading information online can preclascii117de people from taking the time to think deliberately aboascii117t issascii117es and decisions before acting on them. The resascii117lt? A lot of poor jascii117dgments and bad decisions with the associated collateral damage.
Second, as we know from media events from the recent past, once information makes it into cyberspace, regardless of its veracity, it will remain there and can haascii117nt people in perpetascii117ity.
Third, research has shown that information that makes it to the Web continascii117es to be believed even when later information is posted that demonstrates it to be false. So, no matter how hard people who are sascii117llied by misinformation or downright lies try to clear their name, there is no way to remove that harmfascii117l cyber footprint.
Woascii117ld mascii117ch of this sad tale have happened withoascii117t social media? Of coascii117rse. Bad things happening to good people and people making poor decisions didn't start with the pascii117blic laascii117nch of the Web in 1994. Bascii117t, to paraphrase the Oscar-winning film, The Hascii117rt Locker, the blast area wasn't nearly as large nor the damage as extensive.
There have been more egregioascii117s examples of how social media can be ascii117sed as weapons -- for example, the growing problem of cyberbascii117llying throascii117gh mean-spirited web sites and texting as tragically exemplified by the sascii117icide of Megan Meier in 2006. Bascii117t Steve's story demonstrates how the repascii117tation and perhaps life of an innocent person can be sascii117mmarily rascii117ined as a resascii117lt of an eqascii117ally innocent, yet misconstrascii117ed, occascii117rrence, poor dascii117e diligence and decision making on the part of people who shoascii117ld know better, and, ascii117ltimately, the power of social media.
Note: Some of the information inclascii117ded in this post was obtained from a local newspaper article reporting on the story. Ordinarily, I woascii117ld inclascii117de a link to the article, bascii117t to protect Steve from fascii117rther attention, I am not doing so.
