“Dear people, the suspect is not my son (…) Thanks for all the support and sharing the right person. It could have ended very differently.” A mother felt compelled to post this on Facebook because her son had been wrongly identified on social media as the arrested suspect in Gino’s kidnapping.
A body was found in Geleen on Saturday morning and the police later confirmed that it was the missing 9-year-old boy. A 22-year-old man from Geleen is suspected of kidnapping and involvement in Gino’s death. But there was a persistent rumor on social media that a 24-year-old man from Kerkrade would be the prime suspect.
Also read: ‘Gino suspect’ previously convicted of child abuse
Tweet
The gossip was shared so massively that the police released additional information about the arrested suspect via Twitter. Until then, nothing had been made public about the age or residence of the detainee:
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. The arrested suspect is a 22-year-old man from #Geleen†
— Limburg Police Unit (@POL_Limburg) June 4, 2022
intense emotions
In view of the very strong emotions that Gino’s death evokes, according to psychology professor Paul van Lange (VU), it is a good thing that the police have taken this step. When something like this happens to a vulnerable boy, it strongly evokes a need in people for “quick justice”, he explains to the NOS†
Psychologically understandable
“That is psychologically understandable. During the three days that Gino was missing, our empathy has been activated enormously. People think this is terrible. Now there is a lot of anger, because people quickly think: Gino has been kidnapped and probably abused. Then I am surprised not that people on social media are going to speculate that someone did it, and that this leads to threats from some, even if these threats are highly reprehensible.”
Right in your own hands
According to the professor, what such threats do to the victim is often underestimated. In addition, the photo, name and sometimes also address of the alleged perpetrator of a serious crime are widely available on the internet. With the ultimate risk that someone will take the law into their own hands.
Peace
“Would like people to leave the family alone,” a friend of the wrongly designated ‘suspect’ said on Facebook. The information released by the police exonerates the man from Kerkrade. Despite this, some may erroneously hold on to their previous beliefs.
Also read: Gino family: ‘We are in shock and intensely sad’
“Most people won’t,” says Van Lange. “But if you have believed in something and have been strengthened by others, then people may think: it could well be that the police are wrong.” He refers to the proverb where there is smoke there is fire.
witch hunts
“That’s the problem with these kind of witch hunts,” says lawyer Charlotte Meindersma, who specializes in law and social media. There are no official figures, but Meindersma has the idea that it is more common that people are incorrectly linked to crimes or abuses online.
Case-Majorca
As a recent example, she refers to fatal assault on Mallorca in the summer of 2021, in which a 27-year-old man from Waddinxveen was killed in fights between Dutch tourists. “Then a few boys were designated online as accomplices, who ultimately turned out not to belong to that group,” says Meindersma.
At the time, the Public Prosecution Service urged that the investigation be left to the authorities.