[Flashpoint]

Originally Posted by Cowperson

But as amateur online sleuths began identifying possible culprits, caught in the virtual manhunt were people who were wrongly accused or placed under suspicion by crowdsourcing. It showed the damage that digital investigators can cause and raised a relevant question: In the social-media generation, what does law enforcement unleash when, by implication, it deputizes the public for help?

"The FBI kind of opened the door," said Hanson R. Hosein, director of the University of Washington Master of Communication in Digital Media program. "It was almost like it was put up as challenge to them, and they rose to it. ... They can be either really helpful or mob rule."

The bombings have been the highest-profile case in which the public has joined an active investigation, using ever-evolving crowd-sourcing tools, showing the pitfalls and benefits of new technology. It's certainly not vigilantism, but it's not standard policing, either. It's something in the middle, perhaps something new - the law-enforcement equivalent of citizen journalism.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/04...#storylink=cpy

Cowperson

BBC - How Internet Detectives got it Wrong

No, these sleuths were working in public - discussing their theories and "leads" within massive communities such as Reddit, 4Chan, Facebook and Twitter.

On Friday, those efforts ended with an apology. After hours of chatter and speculation, the standout suspect identified - and named - was the wrong man.

"I'd like to extend the deepest apologies to the family of Sunil Tripathi for any part we may have had in relaying what has turned out to be faulty information," wrote Reddit user Rather_Confused.

Nice of him to apologize from behind his Internet Handle.

The New Statesman went as far as to call it a "racist Where's Wally", with the suggestion that there was emphasis on pointing out non-whites among the crowds.

One "suspect" was 17-year-old Salah Barhoun, described on Reddit simply as Blue Robe Man thanks to the tracksuit top he had worn.

Users posted information relating to his whereabouts, and pointing out the "sagging" in a shoulder bag he was holding - a sign, some thought, that he was carrying something heavy.

Not that this rests utterly on the shoulders of the internet. Well, I guess the stupid poop splatters when the s hits the fan.

Hours later, the same pictures that had circulated on Reddit and 4Chan found their way to the front page of the New York Post.

Under the headline "bag men", Mr Barhoun and a friend were said to be wanted for questioning - but the tabloid added: "There is no direct evidence linking them to the crime."

Slow applause.

With each suspect, a rush to find their real identities - and in some cases, social media profiles and groups were peppered with threatening messages.