Earlier today, the New York Post put up a story discussing Ryan Lanza’s Facebook page and statements that he allegedly made to the newspaper, the first made since his brother committed the Newtown shooting (something he was initially falsely accused of). Funny story about that: They got duped and ran with a story based on a fake page with the username “Official.RyanLanza01”, because clearly the New York Post can’t figure out that a Facebook page was created this week. (Apparently the statements were made through Facebook chat, on top of that.) Good work dragging this kid’s name through the mud all over again.
[Ryan] Lanza’s ability to post about his innocence, and mine to see it and relay it to people, is only a social media success story if you don’t question the necessity of dragging an alleged suspect’s possible Facebook profile into the limelight where he’ll be called a mass murderer of children. Other than that, yeah, tweeting’s fun.
I am Facebook Friends with Ryan Lanza, Which Became a Problem — Matt Bors (via susie-c)
I wrote a FB comment on this issue yesterday, part of which I think is relevant to Bors’ situation:
“I’m reminded of the case of Richard Jewell, the man who found the bomb on the grounds of Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta in 1996. He found the bomb minutes before the 911 call was made, only to find himself the target of an intense trial by media — a case which, by the way, led to a number of libel suits, including against The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Jewell died at a fairly young age, the victim of significant health issues which likely weren’t helped by his media ordeal.”
“What happened yesterday with Ryan Lanza was like the entire Richard Jewell ordeal, compressed into two hours. That is not healthy for our industry nor is it something that we got into journalism school for.”
This is why getting the suspect’s name right is important. (FWIW, Ryan Lanza is in custody — for questioning — while Adam Lanza is the alleged suspect according to the Associated Press, though the Connecticut state police won’t confirm. He was found dead. The two had their names inverted in earlier reports. It is not clear if Ryan Lanza had a role or not.)
UPDATE: The AP reports that Ryan Lanza appears not to have a tie to the shooting. Which makes this point even more relevant.
Adam Lanza, who sources tell @cbsnews was the shooter, was 20 years old.His brother, Ryan, is 24 and is being questioned in New Jersey
— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 14, 2012
So it looks like Adam Lanza is the suspect, not his brother, Ryan, as was earlier reported.
SERIOUSLY PEOPLE, JUST STOP
Yes, this. Remember, “Ryan Lanza” is probably a rather common name.
(via @BuzzFeedAndrew)
Ryan Lanza, deceased, is the suspect in the Sandy Hook shooting. Various Lanza-centric Facebook pages are popping up left and right, mostly either condemning him or, in some cases, mourning his death. Let’s wait until all of the facts come in before we conclude anything, and let’s not rely on Facebook to get those facts.
Copyright 2009-2013 Ernie Smith • Ask us stuff! • E-mail us • Follow us on Twitter • Follow us on Facebook
