Reddit apologises for online Boston 'witch hunt'

[cqo_000]

Source: BBC

Social news site Reddit has issued a public apology for its coverage of the Boston bombings.

Reddit has admitted that it helped to fuel "online witch hunts". The debacle has fuelled debate about how far such speculation should go in future.

"We all need to look at what happened and make sure that in the future we do everything we can to help and not hinder crisis situations," the apology read.

The apology concludes: "After this week, which showed the best and worst of Reddit's potential, we hope that Boston will also be where Reddit learns to be sensitive of its own power."

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22263020

[JI7]

1. what was the "best" of Reddit they are referring to ?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

3. Reddit found clear photo of Suspect 2 exiting the explosion without the backpack. Probably more

Reddit users found a clear photo of Suspect 2 exiting the explosion scene (smoke still expanding in background) without the backpack. There is probably more, but that's one that I'm aware of.

[panzerfaust]

6. That Reddit so quickly and relieably identified any non-white males as being potential bombers?

[In_The_Wind]

2. Kick!

[rpannier]

4. If they had been Fox, CNN or the Post

They'd have told us how wonderful they had been

[FailureToCommunicate]

5. Reddit has less to apologize for than some other news outlets...

Reddit did a fine job thru the long night Thursday/Friday in Watertown, IMO.

[alcibiades_mystery]

7. "Confirmed" scanner talk that Sunil Tripathi was suspect #2???

That's about as bad as what the post did, and far worse than what CNN did.

I think of Sunil Tripathi's brother and sister, and his mother, upon seeing the "confirmation." (Don't worry...the brother was also accused!!!). CNN citing a non-existent arrest is a minor matter compared to falsely accusing a missing and depressed person by name, seems to me.

[FailureToCommunicate]

8. Agreed. But I don't think reddit claims to be a mainstream news source

[alcibiades_mystery]

9. That's certainly true

Last Thursday through Friday was a good indication of the dangers of imagining oneself to be one thing, when one is really another. An aggregator and comment engine is just that, and only that.