With over 1.7 billion people worldwide using Facebook, roughly a billion tweets processed every 48 hours, and folks Snapchatting, Instagramming and YouTubing away, it’s hardly surprising that law enforcement has found social media to be a rich treasure trove of people incriminating themselves. We’re not talking criminal masterminds here—think of it more as “America’s Stupidest Criminals: Social Media Edition.”
For example, there are those who are seemingly drawn to their own “Wanted” posters like moths to a flame. 42-year-old Mack Yearwood of Florida had outstanding warrants for battery, but he was so taken with his “Wanted of the Week” poster from the Citrus County Sheriff’s Department that he used it as his Facebook profile picture! That led the police right to his door; I guess they “liked” someone making their job easier. Or take 18-year-old Amy Sharp, who escaped from a Sydney police station earlier this year, prompting a manhunt covered widely by Australian news media. While on the run, Sharp took exception with the dour mugshot being shared by Sydney’s 7 News Facebook page, so she commented on the post and shared a more flattering image of herself along with a simple request. Sharp asked “Can you use this photo, please and thank you?” The preferred photo was “liked” nearly 60,000 times, but the heightened exposure also drew police quickly to the fugitive Sharp. Hopefully when they took her into custody the camera got her good side.
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