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St. Louis prosecuting attorney Bob McCulloch announced Monday that police officer Darren Wilson will not be charged for shooting Michael Brown. Before he revealed the news that Wilson wouldn’t be indicted, he scolded both social media and news outlets for creating rumors about the Ferguson case.
“On August 9th Michael Brown was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson. Within minutes, various accounts of the incident began appearing on social media, accounts filled with speculation and little, if any, solid, accurate information.” A few minutes later in his speech, McCulloch added, “The most significant challenge encountered in this investigation has been the 24-hour news cycle and its insatiable appetite for something, for anything, to talk about, following closely behind with the nonstop rumors on social media.”
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In response, Twitter users erupted with outrage over McCulloch focusing on social media and the “24-hour news cycle” before even announcing news about the actual indictment. Read some of the reactions below.
That opening statement sounds like, “None of this would be a problem except the Internet.”
— James Poniewozik (@poniewozik) November 25, 2014
McCulloch has decided to indict the American public.
— Scott Bixby (@scottbix) November 25, 2014
Hands up. Don’t tweet.
— Jason Abbruzzese (@JasonAbbruzzese) November 25, 2014
Remember that time social media shot an unarmed teenager, and left his body on the street for four hours? Bob McCulloch remembers.
— Wil Wheaton (@wilw) November 25, 2014
so the prosecutor now blames Twitter and the 24-hour news cycle BUT NOT THE GUY WITH THE GUN?! #Ferguson
— Damian Holbrook (@TVGMDamian) November 25, 2014
Prosecutor: Michael Brown’s death has given us the opportunity to talk about social media.
— Jeffrey Goldberg (@JeffreyGoldberg) November 25, 2014
Gobsmacked that prosecutor identifies social media & 24 hour news cycle as more of a challenge than, say, institutional racism. #Ferguson
— Janet D. Stemwedel (@docfreeride) November 25, 2014
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