Kyle Rittenhouse Receives Help As Nicely As Condemnation On Social Media

KENOSHA WISCONSIN – NOVEMBER TEN: Kyle Rittenhouse falls to the ground testifying about KENOSHA [+]Joseph Rosenbaum was his witness during his trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse on November 10, 2021. Rittenhouse was charged with killing two protesters and shooting Jacob Blake seven times in the back during the riot in Kenosha. Rittenhouse was 17 years old and came from Antioch, Illinois. He was armed with an assault weapon. Rittenhouse is charged with negligent homicide and attempted murder. Photo by Sean Krajacic – Pool / Getty Images

Getty Images

It was another day of hashtag dueling on Twitter as both #KyleRittenhouseIsGuilty and #FreeKyleRittenhouse were trending as the trial of the 18-year-old resumed in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Rittenhouse was charged with killing two people – Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber – and injuring a third, Gaige Großkreutz.

Rittenhouse, aged 17, claims that Rittenhouse acted in self-defense during protests against police violence in August 2020.

Rittenhouse was supported and loathed on social media even before his trial began. However, it was only with Rittenhouse’s statement on Wednesday that different views really got on Twitter. Unfortunately, not all tweets were from lawyers.

Many pictures and facts were presented out of context.

Tara Dublin (@taradublinrocks) of HillReporter.com shared a photo of the then 17-year-old holding an AR-15 with the caption, “This is a picture of a by no means innocent person #KyleRittenhouseIsGuilty.”

Author Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) defended the 18-year-old and offered a factoid of the three victims and tweeted, “If you want to check the stats of the two whites Kyle Rittenhouse shot in overt self-defense – here you go. Our FBI knew Kyle wasn’t guilty. The media also knew that Kyle was innocent. They all allowed Kyle to be abused and publicly fed the BLM’s lies. “

These are just two examples from the many tweets that circulated on Thursday.

These and other tweets continued to show the facts of the case.

“Most of the misinformation on social media can be traced back to a very small amount of truth that is magnified so that those exposed will believe it is entirely true,” said Prof. Ericka Mence-Trevino assistant professor at the school of Communication, American University in Washington DC

Menchen-Trevino stated, “It is not difficult to expose misinformation on social media, but it is more difficult to explain some of the sub-texts.”

“Whenever we have these smoke screens on social media, we need to remember that it is really people who share their opinion – not their educated opinion – and they are not trying to present the facts,” added Jason Mollica, Associate Professor , also in the American University School of Communication. The general public consumes news on Twitter and other social networks, but they don’t care to see the full story. They are looking for quick news and headlines to consume quickly.

This is increasingly why social media is not really trustworthy – because it is so difficult to tell what is real or not.

However, as we’ve seen, social media can affect the legal system in some ways. Movies and TV shows have already influenced what judges expect – including the “CSI effect,” where some had higher expectations for scientific evidence than they actually see in a court case.

Since potential jurors could be exposed through social media, it could lead to a new trial. This information can be found on social networks even if advised against it.

Mollica stated, “It is impossible for the facts of a case not to be disclosed.” Finding an impartial person could prove difficult.

Celebrity influence

Even if juries are not influenced by social media, the public could be – especially if shared by someone who is highly regarded. The NBA’s LeBron James (@KingJames) tweeted about the Rittenhouse case. This tweet was in response to Rittenhouse’s testimony. The young defendant broke up during this time.

“What tears ?????” It didn’t exist. This is a great idea! James posted the following tweet on Wednesday night: “This boy had a couple of lemon heads right before he went to court.”

The tweet with a trio of laughing emoticons was liked over 200,000 times and retweeted almost 30,000 times. He wasn’t the only one who disagreed. James has been criticized by many for his inappropriate responses.

“You are literally the king of faking injuries, failing the flop and crying at refs. Better to leave this alone. conservative podcaster Cabot Phillips tweeted (@cabot_phillips).

James isn’t the first celebrity to join the train. However, it could be asked if he and others have any credibility on these issues.

Mollica said there are many celebrities, including athletes and actors, who feel the need for their opinion. People often blindly follow celebrity tweets and likes. However, many people will ignore this.

In this case, James’ opinion probably won’t matter, even if many celebrities meddle where they think they have an opinion – one that is certainly not the least bit educated.

Mollica said Mollica saw many celebrities withdraw what they post on social media.

Professor Menchen-Trevino concluded by saying that not every case received the same amount of attention on social media. Many go unnoticed. For the public, many prefer to turn it off. “