Social Media Vigilantes

Several individuals use social media websites for frivolous reasons, like snap-chat and candy crush, accomplishing nothing other than personal amusement. While others use social media websites to gain the aptitude to assist law-enforcement agencies in solving crimes. Social media users have the ability to provide assistance through offering information, while vigilantes assist by exposing the truth about criminal acts. Although most of these individuals have solicitous intentions, there is an issue with the verification of information they are exposing, resulting in ethical and liability complications. Criminal activity is an issue that law-enforcement agencies have been battling for decades, however since social media has connected everyone

A vigilante is a member of a group of citizens acting in a law-enforcing capacity. They believe that it is their own responsibility to uphold the law and will act in a law enforcing if they believe legal agencies are inadequate. Recently, a group of vigilantes applied social media websites to expose and imprison Michael Earl, the individual responsible for abusing and abandoning his dog Justice in the Windsor area. When Justice was recovered from behind a building and brought to the humane society, investigators were unsure of who commited this crime, and there was lack of forensic evidence. Once word began to spread about what had happen to this dog, an intense social media campaign launched joining over 65,000 people all interested in justice for Justice. All of these individuals had heard of Justices story and wanted to find the perpetrator to ensure that they received a maximum sentence. The vigilante’s efforts towards publicizing Justices story were so valuable and critical to law-enforcers because their campaign played a central role in locating and sentencing Earl. Without the justice for Justice campaign, Earl may never have been charged and perhaps would have continued to abuse animals. Since so many people were concerned with Justices case, the campaign was not

Although vigilantes have the best of intentions and are not malicious, the issue is that no one is checking the information they are posting which produces privacy issues. Posting something on social media does not require a warrant and can be entirely anonymous, meaning that individuals can upload and discuss whatever they desire with no verifications required. A group of vigilantes contributing to social media websites is an international, non-profit, journalistic organizing known as WikiLeaks. WikiLeaks intended purpose is to broadcast classified interactions, news leaks and sensitive information anonymously through social media. Although this group of individuals intentions appear to be constructive, some secrets- like the PINs to our bank accounts-are essential for our welfare and should not be uncovered through social media. WikiLeaks has previously publicized private government information that has put law-enforcement officers and community members at risk; the group’s continuation to reveal private government information raises ethical concerns for our futures safety. If a circumstance allowed WikiLeaks to reveal the location of our military team, national security could be jeopardized; this demonstrates the ethical problems that arise when information is not verified