Well, it's been five days since 2 college students were murdered and 9 others were injured, so surely we have some details by now, right?
Nope.
Presenting: The Federal Bureau of Investigation ROCKETTES!
Yes, the FBI is out in full force doing REAL detective work by kicking the snow where the shooter may or may not have walked (we still don't have great video, of course).
While the FBI is floundering in the snow, the internet is getting impatient. It's found someone it's accusing of being a suspect.
Mustapha Kharbouch is an immigrant, a teaching assistant at Brown, and a well-known leftist activist.
A gait analysis, which is used by law enforcement but isn't exactly "fingerprint" or "DNA" level evidence, APPARENTLY shows that Kharbouch and the killer's steps match.
When these reports went viral, Brown University heightened suspicion by memory-holing the existence of the student on its website.
For some reason, authorities don't seem to understand how the internet works - that erasing info without an explanation only heightens fringe theories and undermines public trust.
The university did eventually issue a statement, but by then it was seen as part of a cover-up, not as a genuine sign of transparency.
(I can do better PR than all these people. Why??)
Because none of the "experts" seem to understand basic lessons in public relations and are actually inflaming conspiracy theories through their bungling, the situation had to be addressed by Rhode Island's AG.
Acknowledging an awareness of internet chatter is actually a breath of fresh air. Most officials are usually like Brown's president, appearing clueless.
I know nothing about webpages being taken down as part of this. It's the first I've heard of it.
To add insult to injury, Brown's president also had no answer for why the campus warning system was not activated.
You couldn't add more fuel to the conspiracy theories if you tried!
Never attribute to malfeasance what can be explained by incompetence or laziness, but holy moly. Is anyone in leadership educated on how to handle mass shootings and public communications???
As a cap on this lesson in abject stupidity, the police were quick to announce that they had a random white guy in custody but are being extremely vague about potential Muslim terrorism.
I'm not pushing any of these theories on you, but the public has already made up its mind based on how officials have reacted, and nothing those officials say now will be seen as trustworthy.
Well done, everyone. 😑
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