I am Facebook friends with Ryan Lanza (Salon)

[Mass]

Chilling view of human nature, and one we have seen on DU these last few days. Trying to find explanations to things we cannot understand is only human, but, in doing so, we often forget to stop and think, and to make sure what we read is true.

http://www.salon.com/2012/12/17/i_am_facebook_friends_with_ryan_lanza/

There a lot of things we need to have a “national discussion” about in America — gun laws and access to mental health care being the two most important. For decades we’ve hidden our mentally ill in prisons and under bridges instead of dealing with them humanely. We’ve decided that access to guns is more important than our safety, that more guns equals safety, or that it’s a settled political issue. But another problem brought to light by this story is journalism in the age of the rolling news cycle, and how social media shapes not only coverage of breaking news, but us as people.

We have a problem with rushing to judgment.

News organizations racing to be first know that an article with a snappy headline thrown up when people are hungry for information can bring in incredible amounts of traffic – forget glory or prestige, keep the servers running ads. But accuracy and being first seem to conflict. Gawker’s first headline was “Is This Ryan Lanza, the Connecticut School Shooter?” which was later updated with my screen shot changed to “This ‘Ryan Lanza Facebook Profile Is The Connecticut Shooter’ Stuff Is Fucking Up Everything” (which seemed to admit they were fucking everything up). In response to criticism from Adam Serwer and Poynter, Buzzfeed’s editors detailed some of their thinking today.


The outpouring of vitriol directed at me I’m still trying to figure out. I was feeling shitty about the human race due to the shooting, this wasn’t helping, and as someone used to getting their share of criticism and trolls, it was on a level that surprised me. People all over the web were immediately passing around unverified nonsense, creating fake profiles of Lanza, burn-in-hell Facebook pages, raging on people they don’t know – like me – with the most tenuous connection imaginable to Lanza.

Allow me to add this because I have seen people doing just that and it bothers me

http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/don-t-stigmatize-asperger-s-syndrome-in-wake-of-newtown-massacre-20121216
Don't Stigmatize Asperger's Syndrome in Wake of Newtown Massacre
...

[patrice]

1. Where are the internet's wandering Jedi Knights of REASON???

[SocratesInSpirit]

2. Yes, this!

My stepsister went to college with Ryan Lanza and was facebook friends with him - she got the exact same crap hurled at her (including a death threat!) and had to deactivate her FB page. People are fucking stupid.