This spring, six teenage girls and two teen boy accomplices were arrested after brutally beating a fellow teen and posting a video of the attack on YouTube. Before the girls ever had their day in court in April, YouTubers already were weighing evidence, making comment and passing judgment—online, of course.
On April 11, the day the teens made their first appearance before a judge, six of the 20 most popular videos for the day were related to the attack—including interviews with parents of attackers and victims. News clips, commentaries and parodies were being posted by the bushel, some drawing more than 700,000 views.
The victims’ parents, for the record, partly blame the Internet for what happened to their child. “For whatever reason, this MySpace, my-you, this YouTube has gone too far,” said Talisa Linsday. “As far as I’m concerned, MySpace is the Antichrist for children,” added husband Patrick.
Those responding online aren’t so sure. More than 1,800 people responded by posting comments on the interview, most echoing the sentiment of one anonymous writer: “It’s not about YouTube and MySpace!! It’s about those eight freakin’ teenagers!!”
(New York Times)
