Boston Bombings: Truth, Justice and the Wild West of Social Media

It has been three days since the devastating bombings at the Boston marathon. No suspects have been named or are in custody. The web has begun to consume itself, gnawing on its own tail in search of comfort and answers. Until authorities find the bastards who did this, it should be a harmless exercise. But it’s not.

As I write this, Reddit users are frantically trying to stamp out a fire they started. What seemed like a good idea at the time — crowdsourcing an investigation of video and photo forensic evidence — has spun out of control.

A recent post on the site gives you an idea of where things are: Read more...