In an effort to find out more information about the alleged terrorist who was recently arrested for the attempted bombing in Times Square,  journalists got the wrong profile of another person named Faisal Shahzad on Facebook. Once the error was brought to the attention of the Web site that published the information, it was pulled and the information removed. But what is disturbing about the incident is not the mistake itself, but that another person could be labeled as a terrorist and the resulting harm it could cause.

In a day and age where digital information is acquired by anyone who has access to social networking sites, what responsibility do journalists and bloggers have to confirm they have the right person? A recent article also states:

But Facebook journalism is a tricky science, and it almost certainly should never involve the publication of photographs of a person whom you think might be an alleged terrorist, and then again, might just be a normal dude. That’s the kind of thing that can put someone in danger.

This I believe is the bottom line, that the wrong person could be put in danger. I am sure that there are those who troll the Internet looking for any information that could identify someone who may not share their views. Though social networking sites go to great care to protect the identity of those who participate on the site, sometimes it is the users themselves that post too much private information concerning themselves and their families.

I recently did an article [read it here] in which a recent survey shows that people still continue to provide private information on the Internet.

What do you think?

Comments welcome.

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