Online sleuthing has a bad reputation, and for good reason. Most communities of amateurs that set out to solve crimes in online forums only end up making things worse. They accuse innocent people. They interfere with law enforcement. They spread conspiracy theories. In some cases, the impulse can morph into a disinformation cult. What is QAnon, after all, if not a bunch of wannabe Sherlocks who think they're discovering hidden truths?
But there's one big, amazing exception to the rule — the group of self-appointed investigators who joined a grassroots online effort to uncover the identities of people who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. As NBC reporter Ryan Reilly explains in his new book, "Sedition Hunters: How January 6th Broke the Justice System," a group of citizen-analysts started to comb through the enormous archive of photographic and video evidence of the Jan. 6 insurrection for clues. Using programming and social media skills, they became ruthlessly effective at identifying specific rioters in the crowd. In the process, they became an invaluable resource for the FBI. As Reilly notes, "Frankly, there are a lot of people who are behind bars today who would not be there but for these sleuths."
