The worrying future of British justice

Is it just me, or does anyone else see a serious problem emerging?

I've just had a quick look on Facebook, and there was a big picture of two average looking people who, I'm told, are responsible for something terrible. They may well be, I don't know.

Its the second time in as many weeks I've seen something like that.

On both occasions, each post by a different person, I'm expected to do two things:
1) Believe without questioning that what I'm being told is true
2) Share the information on with everyone in my 'friend' list.

Lots of people obviously tick both those boxes, because these posts tend to rapidly accumulate a high 'share' count.

The worrying thing is that, and I hate to say this, but people are often not as clever as they think they are (even me I bet). Lets assume for a second that what we're being told by someone who most likely wasn't even there when whatever alleged crime happened, is all 100% true, and the people who's mugshot is being plastered all over the internet are actually evil. How many people will actually accurately identify the person from the vague memory of a single small low resolution photo on Facebook? How many people, maybe after a few beers down town, still with the memory of the rumour on the back of their mind and slightly angered by it, will see someone who looks a bit like the person in the mugshot, and give an innocent person a good hiding all based on mistaken identity and rumour?

If I'm not mistaken, our current legal system has evolved and developed from the Magna Carta. Nearly 800 years of legal developments undermined by some halfwits who think its ok to write unsubstantiated gibberish and post a few mugshots for the whole world (literally) to see. A few times I've been tempted to delete my Facebook account but seeing some of the stuff that goes on there, I want to keep an eye out in case someone who happens to look a bit like me or a close friend or family member ends up on there. At least forewarned is fore armed as they say.

 

Two sides to every story, to much gossip and lies about, trial by media

just because some one says something does mean it true

 

Actually you are free to choose whether to "like" the post or believe what it says. I usually don't share anything involving crime or blood.

 

That's true. And wise people will do exactly as I did and not hit 'like' or 'share' or comment on it, because that then makes it visible to even more people. But then wise people are not the intended audience for these things, and wise people wont go and beat somebody up based on mistaken identity. Wise people would torture a peadiatrician in Wales because their job title starts off the same as peadophile. I saw two of these posts on Facebook because a chain of 'nice but dim' people shared them on thinking they were doing the right thing.

Rumours have always been damaging. Facebook and the likes provide a simpler and faster way to spread them.