Jack Mahoney
English 123
The internet played the most important role in victimizing Marcel Fontaine. Once the photo was posted of him on 4chan, fake news was immediately created against him. People believed he was a communist because of the shirt he was wearing and that because he was homosexual these false claims were made easily.
Being mistaken as the Parkland shooter came with serious consequences. He received death threats constantly as he feared for his life. Along with this, he did not want to leave his house and is still scared to this day.
Sandy Hook father Lenny Pozner has had to move many times for multiple reasons. Once he started his fight back against conspiracy theorists who believed the Sandy Hook massacre was fake, he started receiving death threats immediately. He proved his son was real and indeed in the school when the shooting occurred by posting his son’s birth certificate and Kindergarten report card and by starting his own organization that fights false claims from conspiracy theorists. According to Pozner, free speech ends when, “your chosen form of expression impedes my rights to be free from defamation and harassment.”
Dr. Offit continues his work because he knows that vaccines can improve the lives of millions of people. He knows that although people are against the idea of vaccines, they can prevent the spread of many diseases which improves the quality of life for millions.
Sexism plays a role in the harassment of Brianna Wu in many ways. This is because she is a woman and because she decided to take a stand against conspiracy theorists online they automatically thought of her as inferior and began to attack her beliefs. Shortly after she started receiving death threats and was forced to move out of her home with her husband.
Solid work, Jack.