When an American dentist named Walter Palmer killed a beloved lion named
Cecil, the social media platforms that allowed outraged web users to
spread the story also enabled them to do more than just fume. It gave
them the power to act on their anger, to reach into Palmer’s life and
punish him for what he’d done, without having to wait for the wheels of
more formal justice to turn.Web users uncovered Palmer’s personal information, including about his family, and published it online. They went after his business, a private dental practice, posting thousands of negative reviews on Yelp
and other sites. The practice has since shut down. Users also went
after professional websites that host his profile, leading the sites to
remove his information. On Twitter and on his practice’s public Facebook
page, people made threats of physical violence.This should look familiar: It is the same set of tactics that has been used in online harassment campaigns such as the “Gamergate” movement that targeted women in technology, or the seemingly endless online harassment conducted against female journalists. It is a growing trend of internet mob justice, one that often bleeds into real-world harassment with real-world consequences.
From Gamergate to Cecil the lion: internet mob justice is out of control
thew1ghtknight 