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ARTICLE REVIEW 4

Justice and Social Media

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Justice and Social Media

The working title for my paper is "The Influence of social media on criminal behavior and Investigations." The main resource I will be using is the book Crime, Justice, and Social Media by Michael Salter. This book is very insightful and covers a variety of topics concerning social media and how it relates to the justice system. I was drawn to this topic after seeing a case of cyberbullying on a friend of mine and I was drawn into investigating how social media is used in crime.

The author makes significant conclusions while investigating this phenomenon. One of the conclusions he makes is that social media can be used as a conduit for crime. While crimes like trafficking and fraud existed before social media, they have advanced and evolved using social media. Fraudsters now do not have to hire billboards and promote fake businesses to con people. They simply have to make a fake ad on social media and they are in business.

Salter (2016) also states that social media platforms have provided an avenue for crimes such as hate speech and cyberbullying. Gone are the days when a bully would beat up someone when the teacher was looking. Now, bullies simply need to have a phone and they can make the lives of their victims miserable. In light of this, law enforcement has also turned to social media to gather evidence, track suspects, and solve crimes.

Salter (2016) also discusses how social media shapes the perceptions of crime, justice, and law enforcement. This was evident during Trump's attempted assassination, where the narrative alternated between the Right and the Left. Some on the Right were quick to label this as an instance of radicalization from the Left while some on the Left argued that the incident was faked by Trump and his aides. This demonstrates how social media can shape public perceptions of a crime and influence the way it is discussed and handled online.

The author also urges future researchers to investigate how social media affects criminal behavior. The emergence of social media, and technology in general, presents a great challenge in investigating crime. This is because social media is constantly changing and introducing new things. Ten years ago, social media trends that led to harm and crime were non-existent. Now, it is common for a trend to come up that features criminal behavior, such as the infinite money glitch trend. The trend involved taking advantage of a flaw in a bank's system depositing fake checks and taking the money before the bank realized (CEO Today 2024). This activity involves check fraud, theft, and bank fraud. This highlights how social media can facilitate criminal activities and underscores the need for further investigation into the phenomenon.

Salter (2016) also suggests further investigation into how social media can be used to change the narrative and can hinder justice. There have been cases where guilty parties have received pardons solely because they have managed to sway the narrative on social media. Law enforcement and the criminal justice system must dig into understanding how social media can be used to keep criminals on the streets, instead of sending them to jail.

References

CEO Today. 2024. “Caught in the Chase: JPMorgan Sues Social Media ‘Infinite Money Hackers’ Over Massive Bank Fraud Scandal.” November 1, 2024. https://www.ceotodaymagazine.com/2024/10/caught-in-the-chase-jpmorgan-sues-social-media-infinite-money-hackers-over-massive-bank-fraud-scandal/.

Salter, M. (2016).  Crime, justice, and social media. Routledge.