The online forum Reddit has proven to be a key resource for investigators of high-profile crimes, including the fatal shooting at Brown University.
Scott Simon, host:
Reddit is one of the most cited sources for those AI-powered answers at the top of Google searches. The social media forum, where people can comment on questions or news, also features in high-profile investigations, including the fatal shooting at Brown University and, later, of an MIT professor. Ben Brock Johnson co-hosts Endless Thread, a podcast about what can be the blurred line between online communities and real life. It is produced by member station WBUR. He joins us now from Amherst, Massachusetts. Ben, thank you so much for being with us.
BEN BROOK JOHNSON, by phone: Thank you, Scott.
SIMON: How did Reddit get involved in the witch hunt that stretched from Providence, Rhode Island, to Salem, New Hampshire?
JOHNSON: Well, the point is, so far, Scott, is that Reddit was actually the first place where a user appeared to post some of the key information that led to the big break in this case. This information was posted in the r/providence subreddit. The way Reddit works is that communities focus on specific topics or hobbies, or in this case, the city of Providence, Rhode Island. Reddit is also an anonymous platform. The information provided by the Redditor, or Reddit user, was a description of an encounter with a suspicious person around the time of the shooting and the statement that authorities should look into, as he put it, “possibly a rented gray Nissan.” Rent because Nissan had Florida plates.
SIMON: Reddit has been around for – what? – 20 years? Is this suddenly a new resource for investigators?
Johnson: I would say no. From the beginning, the platform has really focused on news and discussing news. The 2013 Boston Marathon bombing is an example of Reddit users flooding communities with discussions and theories, which led to suspects being wrongly identified, cheating or revealing the identities of people who were at the time the target of harassment and scrutiny, despite having no connection to the case. One of these misidentified suspects, Sunil Tripathi, a student at Brown University, was later found dead. In short, yes, Reddit is a gold mine for all kinds of information. Of course, law enforcement knows this too, and has probably known it for a long time.
SIMON: Do Redditors realize that their comments are being monitored by sleuths?
JOHNSON: That’s an interesting question, Scott. Redditors on the whole can be pretty smart in my experience. It is true that this user may have posted on Reddit before contacting the authorities, but whether or not this type of behavior was intentional is difficult to know. The same user later posted what he referred to as a sort of PSA post saying that they had contacted authorities directly, been interviewed, and that they would not be giving further interviews to the media or discussing the matter further. That was a few days ago now. A financial reward has been announced for information leading to breaks in the case, and it is likely that this user also wants to remain anonymous.
My excellent Endless Thread host, Amory Sivertson, reached out to the user and Reddit. There are no answers yet. Redditors love when someone helps solve something. I’ve been monitoring the community’s reaction, and they are definitely celebrating this user and his contribution to the cause. I think, officially, Reddit has a history of working with authorities, but it also protects user anonymity, and the company has developed its own rules about identifying people over the years. So this is an interesting and sophisticated thing to watch.
SIMON: Ben Brock Johnson from member station WBUR and the Endless Thread podcast. Thank you very much.
JOHNSON: Thank you, Scott.
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