Court of Public Opinion

In today’s digital age, the courtroom isn’t always a place with a judge in a robe and a jury of peers. More often, it looks like a Facebook comment thread or a viral TikTok video. 

Social media has become a powerful tool for sharing information, raising awareness, and holding people accountable—but it’s also turned into a virtual courthouse where anyone with a phone becomes the judge, jury, and sometimes even the executioner.

The speed at which information spreads online is staggering. A single tweet, screenshot, or video clip can spark outrage, shape opinions, and influence reputations within hours. The problem? That outrage often arrives long before all the facts do.

It’s human nature to react emotionally, especially when confronted with stories of injustice, cruelty, or misconduct. But reacting and rushing to judgment are two different things. 

In the court of law, due process exists for a reason—everyone is entitled to a fair trial, evidence must be reviewed, and both sides get a chance to be heard. 

On social media, none of those safeguards apply.

Cancel culture, while born out of a desire to hold people accountable, has sometimes strayed into dangerous territory. Innocent people have been wrongly accused and publicly shamed based on incomplete or false narratives. Careers have been destroyed, families impacted, and reputations ruined—all before the truth could catch up.

That’s not to say social media doesn’t have a place in raising concerns or demanding justice. Many important movements—like #MeToo and Black Lives Matter—gained momentum online and led to real-world change. But there’s a fine line between demanding accountability and delivering digital vigilante justice.

We need to ask ourselves: 

Are we promoting awareness, or are we fueling a mob? Are we sharing to inform, or to condemn? Are we open to new information, or have we already decided someone’s guilt or innocence based on a headline or a clip?

Let’s not forget that behind every post is a person. They may be flawed, they may be wrong, or they may be completely innocent. But they deserve the same fairness and dignity we would want for ourselves.

Social media will continue to be a powerful platform. The challenge for us, as users, is to use it wisely—to question, to think critically, and to remember that justice isn’t a popularity contest. 

In the rush to judge, let’s not forget what true justice actually looks like.