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Social media representations of crime

Social media representations of crime and deviance are increasing with the popularity of social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Some crimes, such as hate crimes, are recorded, and placed on social media sites, gaining a large audience in a short space of time. These messages can attract the attention of authorities as many police forces have their own dedicated social media pages. This increases awareness of the types of crimes that are being committed in public and the widespread condemnation of those committing the crime could lead to a reduction in these types of events. However, social media can also amplify some forms of crime, such as hate crime. High profile figures have often become the target of racial and sexual threats through social media. One example of this is the abuse received by England footballers, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka following England's defeat in the European Championship finals. Social media reporting of crime can also lead to deviancy amplification. In the 2011 riots in the UK, social media was used to organise further outbreaks of violence and looting, and this led to prosecutions for those spreading messages for encouraging public disorder.

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