‘Wrong’ Donny showered with death threats after murdering Gino (9): “Could have gone wrong” | Instagram VTM NEWS

The news of the arrest of Donny M. on Saturday unleashed a veritable witch hunt on social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Telegram. Users speculated extensively about the suspect’s last name and even posted various photos of the possible suspect. Family members were also harassed and sometimes even threatened.

Because there was a threat of a snowball effect, the police felt compelled to intervene publicly. “Names and photos of someone linked to Gino’s disappearance are circulating on social media. This is NOT about the suspect in this case. We urgently request that these images be removed and not shared,” she wrote on Twitter. Police reported the suspect’s correct age (22) and residence in the message to reassure people that they were wrong.

For a 24-year-old Limburger, who also happens to be called Donny, the damage was already done. He and his family had to endure a torrent of negative reactions in the space of a few hours. “The impact was huge. Imagine if people had taken matters into their own hands and my son would be beaten up,” says the victim’s mother, barely recovered from the shock. “I even got messages that they should sprinkle my son with hydrochloric acid and chop it up.”

A witch hunt of this magnitude is not new to the Dutch police. In September 2018, people who joked about the victims of the stint drama in Oss were pilloried online en masse. And last year, a public prosecutor was widely harassed and accused of conflict of interest, because she is supposed to be the mother of one of the suspects of Carlo Heuvelman, who was kicked to death in Mallorca. That later turned out to be nonsense.

“On social media, people think they can respond ‘safely’ and can and may say anything,” a police spokesperson said. “The tone with which this happens is also getting louder. Please take a moment to think about what you are doing or writing in response. This can have a huge impact on victims, family or acquaintances.”

For people who participate in an online witch hunt, experts have nothing good to say about it. “These people stir each other up and give each other the feeling that such a hunt is justified, that they are doing the right thing with it. But the opposite is true: it makes people hate social media even more. There is no brake on this hunt, that is dangerous,” said media professor Jan van Dijk of the University of Twente.

For the innocent Donny, the mass hysteria fizzled out. “Fortunately it ended well and we have some ‘rest’ again thanks to the intervention of the police and myself! I shouldn’t have thought about how it could have ended! I am glad that this will all be resolved soon, now I am mainly ready for rest.”

Best friend of Donny M. speaks for the first time: “Donny has a good side and a bad side. I have often seen him change” (+)

The mother of a previous victim of Donny M. (22) testifies: “As a 12-year-old he was said to be too young to be punished” (+)