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n2doc

(47,953 posts)
Mon Apr 22, 2013, 11:49 AM Apr 2013

#Freejahar Hashtag Rallies Emerging Cult of Boston Bomb Suspect

BY SPENCER ACKERMAN
04.22.13
10:45 AM


Barely two days after cops apprehended Suspect #2 in the Boston Marathon bombings, supporters of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev are rallying online. A flood of Twitter, Instagram and web postings are mirroring the crowdsourced effort to find the bomb culprit, except this time they’re out to exonerate him. Analysts of online extremism are watching closely to see if Tsarnaev becomes a cult figure.

The #freejahar hashtag on Twitter is about what you’d expect after the most highly publicized manhunt in the country. It’s a mix of conspiracy theories, sympathy for Tsarnaev and skepticism of the official narrative surrounding the 19-year old’s arrest. Much of it is consumed with an effort to crowdsource Tsarnaev’s exoneration, pointing to photos from the scene and speculating about them — similar to what took place on 4Chan and Reddit to hunt the bombing perpetrators.

“He’s fucking innocent. If he were “guilty”, it wouldn’t take this long to fucking prove it, and there would actually be evidence,” says one supporter, although the government has yet to charge the incapacitated, hospitalized Tsarnaev with a crime.

@J_Tsarsupport posted a photo (warning: graphic) claiming “proof that half the ‘victims’ are fake” based on a suspicion that there ought to be more blood. Links to conspiracy accusations on Infowars — which disrupted an FBI press conference on Thursday — proliferate. Photos circulate purporting to show, as with this one, that the backpack containing the bomb matches one carried by a different individual. “We The Private Eye have Proven Jhar innocent an soon he will publicly be innocent ..Keep up the great job campaigners,” tweeted another advocate using the hashtag #TroyCrossleyTruth. Compressing the cycle of accusation and refutation online, the hashtag is already getting trolled

Similar material is emerging on Instagram and the web. On the popular photo-sharing network, @Freejaharheda posts a tinted photo of Tsarnaev declaring his innocence; disbelievers “are NASA, GOVERMENT , CSI, NSI, ARMY etc. It is those who is dealing with satan.” A Change.org petition to President Obama starts out with the consensus petition that Tsarnaev, who has yet to be charged, receive a fair trial. Then it slips into more curious territory: “It is vital to end this persecution, as all the conflicting information shown by the media, and footage from the incident, seen by people from all corners of the world, doesn’t manifest itself as enough evidence to condemn Dzhokhar Tsarnaev of this heinous crime.”

more
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2013/04/cult-of-tsarnaev/

People are sick

6 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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#Freejahar Hashtag Rallies Emerging Cult of Boston Bomb Suspect (Original Post) n2doc Apr 2013 OP
Sick AND stupid. Union Scribe Apr 2013 #1
Humanity has officially hit an all-time low. eom tarheelsunc Apr 2013 #2
Predictable. eom Purveyor Apr 2013 #3
There are always conspiracy theorist. This time with all the absolutely horrible, inacurate patricia92243 Apr 2013 #4
"TheoristS". There are a lot more than one of them. kestrel91316 Apr 2013 #6
I guess now we see why it's better to not catch some of these guys alive. Renew Deal Apr 2013 #5

patricia92243

(12,590 posts)
4. There are always conspiracy theorist. This time with all the absolutely horrible, inacurate
Mon Apr 22, 2013, 11:56 AM
Apr 2013

reporting from all aspects of media, they will have a field day.

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