Well while Reddit can be a good source of information, sometime this immediate access from the "average citizen" can cause for some mistakes. All of us remember the tragic Boston Bombing that occurred this past april. Well after the bombing occurred a Reddit group came together to attempt to catch who the bomber was and warn the public. A very good idea, right?! Well the idea that came from good intentions turned in a negative direction when the reddit group took a photo released from the FBI and concluded that a man in the photo looked like Sunii Tripathi, a Brown University student who had been reported missing a month earlier. Tripathi's, who had no connection with the bombing, body was found after the bombing.
After the incident with the Boston bombing reddit group targeting Tripathi, Reddit general manager apologized for the "dangerous speculation that spiraled into very negative consequences for innocent parties." He also apologized for the pain his family had to endure because of this mix up.
I found this story interesting because it shows some of the dangers that can exist with our instant access to information on the web. Minutes after the Boston bombing a group of people can come together on the web to hunt for the man responsible is crazy to think about. It really has to resonate with people that they need to check their facts before they say anything because they could be changing someone's life.
Source: USA Today
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