Man ID'd by Internet as White Nationalist Wasn't

Doxxing Charlottesville marchers is effective but risky
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 15, 2017 1:24 PM CDT
Doxxing White Nationalists Is Effective—but Risky
In this Friday photo, multiple white nationalist groups march with torches through the UVA campus in Charlottesville, Va.   (Mykal McEldowney/The Indianapolis Star via AP)

Internet sleuths working to publicly identify and shame the white nationalists, neo-Nazis, and others who attended last weekend's "Unite the Right" rally in Virginia have had some success—one man lost his job, another was disowned by his family—but their efforts aren't without their risks. The New York Times reports Kyle Quinn spent last Friday going to a museum and dinner with his wife in an Arkansas town more than 1,000 miles from Charlottesville, but he was still identified as one of the men who stormed the University of Virginia campus with torches. He was harassed on social media and his home address was made public. As threats poured in, he and his wife were forced to stay at a co-worker's home. Here's what else you need to know about the "doxxing" going on in the wake of Charlottesville:

  • In a report on "the mixed blessing of an internet posse," the Marshall Project explains that such activities can actually be helpful to police, noting authorities in Philadelphia have identified possible suspects in multiple cases due to civilians poking around social media.
  • Jennifer Lawrence is also in favor of it, asking fans to help identify rally attendees, Entertainment Weekly reports. "These are the faces of hate," she wrote on Facebook. "You can't hide with the internet you pathetic cowards!"
  • CNN has an interview with Logan Smith, the man behind the Twitter account @YesYoureRacist, which is one of the leading forces behind identifying attendees of the rallies. "I think the situation with race in America has deteriorated, especially with the election of Donald Trump," Smith says.
  • Peter Cvjetanovic, publicly outed as one of the torch-carriers in Virginia, tells the Reno Gazette-Journal things are "spiraling out of control" and that he's received death threats. Still, the 20-year-old student isn't backing down from his racist beliefs: "I will defend tooth and nail my views as a white nationalist."
  • The Seattle Times reports James Allsup is stepping down as president of the Washington State University College Republicans after he was identified as one of the attendees at Friday's march. The College Republican national committee has told anyone who supports white nationalism to leave the organization.
(More Charlottesville, Va. stories.)

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