The partner of Nicola Bulley, who was missing for 33 days early in the year, has described the online obsession with her disappearance as a monster that got out of control.
Paul Ansell said his family initially welcomed the huge public interest, but that changed when amateur sleuths on social media began posting numerous misleading theories about what had happened.
They accused him of killing her, misconstrued the limited information available, and released personal details about Nicola. Some people travelled to Lancashire to "help" the police, and simply got in the way.
Airing dubious theories in private to your family or friends is one thing (and I'm tempted to speculate as much as anyone else) but posting those theories online to thousands of impressionable people who're likely to keep repeating them indefinitely is another.
Of course a lot of the online speculation is just about getting attention, and the more attention the merrier.
Some of the would-be pundits even make out they're smarter than the police and have spotted things the police have overlooked. The sheer arrogance and self-inflation is breathtaking.
Unfortunately social media provides a perfect platform for these outpourings of meddling bullshit.
Pic: Nicola Bulley
Nick, I sigh . I know nothing about this person, case and people's interest . In general I'm not interested in things I have no knowledge about and to suppose possibilities why , how , who seems to me a loss of time. Normally there are institutions to find out or solve those events.
ReplyDeleteHannah