Impact of Online Activism on Public Involvement in Criminal Justice System

<https://www.researchgate.net/publication/352284832_Impact_of_Online_Activism_on_Public_Involvement_in_Criminal_Justice_System>

Journal of Media Studies Vol. 36(1): January 2021 255-289 ? 2010 ICS Publications https://journals.pu.edu.pk/journals/index.php/jms/index

Abstract

In this information era the increase in the use of digital technology

has transformed the way we interact, socialize, access and

consume data. The study investigates the reach and impact of

public engagement on the crime and justice system in the

contemporary age of online activism and citizen journalism.

Applying the mixed-method approach, data is gathered through

a thematic review of high-profile criminal cases, interviews of

experts and a public survey in Pakistan. The findings highlight

that a majority of youth under the age of 36 are using social media,

especially Facebook (around 60% of the respondents), as the main

source of news about criminal cases. While heavy exposure to

criminal cases on digital media (77%) seems to have a nominal

influence on public understanding of the judicial system in the

country. However, it provides them with a platform for online

activism, which often leads to offline civil right movements and

campaigns with demands for mob justice and vigilantism. Despite

certain limitations, the study provides valuable suggestions and

insights for the policy makers and researchers alike in the field.

Introduction

Digital activism, also known as 'digilantism', is a type of activism

that uses the internet and digital media as main platforms for

mass mobilization and civil action. Formerly, online activists used

the Internet as a vehicle for the dissemination of information due

to its widespread and quick reach to mass audiences across

borders. Later, it is adopted as an interactive platform of protest

that often reflects and magnifies off-line protests. Other forms of

digital activism include e-mail and social-media campaigning,

smart mobs and blogs, virtual sit-ins, vigilantism, hacktivism or

disrupting websites (Fuentes, 2014).

Following the proliferation of digital networks, online

activism and citizen journalism have emerged as popular trends,

which have largely transformed the nature of social, political and

civil movements and thereby the process of opinion building and

judicial structure (Rinne & Hayhtio, 2008). The democratization

of digital platforms has allowed law enforcement agencies and

opinion leaders to interact with masses openly. The use of social

media by police (Goldsmith 2015; McGovern and Lee 2012) and

courts (Johnston 2017) promote public access and involvement

with the justice system.

Social Media provide people an opportunity to

disseminate news about corruption and particularistic

governance, even in a strictly controlled media context. Besides, it

empowers civil society to mobilize citizens for the fight against

crimes and corruption (Kossow & Kukutschka, 2017).

However, Verdenicci and Hough (2015) indicated that

without sincere support from governments and external agents,

citizen-centered anti-corruption mechanisms remain restricted,

irrelevant and even damaging as citizen indifference and

frustration increases and chances to reform decreases. Rothstein

(2011) concurred that the rise of citizens with an awareness to

guard and voice their grievances is one of the leading factors for

rapid social reform through institutionalized ‘big bang’, as

evident in low-corruption countries such as Denmark and

Journal of Media Studies 36(1)

Sweden (Jensen 2014). But, it needs the backing and involvement

of formal institutions, which turns it into sustainable change in

the long run.

It is assumed that online platforms usually support

informal justice practices and highlight public reaction to crimes.

Prins (2011) has advocated e‐victimology, discussed how social

media engagement opens up new avenues for self‐help and

activism.

However, it might have some potential negative effects

on the traditional justice system such as the influence of public

opinion on juries in the court system (Patterson 2012; Browning

2014). Furthermore, privacy and protection of victims are also

under serious threats due to digital media platforms. Powell

(2015) and Fileborn (2014) studied increasing digitalism of victimsurvivors

and online movements in reaction to sexual violence

and street harassment. Meanwhile, some researchers also

highlighted the chances for a digital media 'pillory' i.e. intensified

role of media in shaming 'ordinary' people when they commit

minor offences (Waller 2014), and 'digilantism' (Stratton 2017).

Trottier (2017) indicated vigilantism as an emerging

practice, defined as a user violation of privacy that surpasses

online/offline differences and obscures relations of control and

visibility between police and the public. Culberson (1990), as cited

by Trottier, defined it as ‘private violence’ or ‘everyday policing’

(Burr and Jensen 2004) whereby people aim to assert their

preferred form of criminal justice. It is often driven by lowered

public trust in police and criminal justice (Haas et al. 2014). This

trend can promote injustices, doxing (public display of the target’s

Hafeez Criminal Justice System & Impact of Online Activism

highly sensitive personal details such as address, contacts etc. on

the Internet), online as well as embodied harassment and violence

towards alleged perpetrators. The phenomenon popularly known

as 'viral justice' or vigilantism (Trottier 2017; Thompson Wood

2016; Rose 2014; Aikins 2013; Antoniades 2012) emphasizes the

need to study the type and effects of mass movements for justice

that are enabled via digital platforms.

This study is an attempt to investigate the prevalence and

popularity of 'digilantism' and its possible impact on high-profile

criminal cases and resultant civil right movements in Pakistani

society. Pakistan has one of the most dynamic social media

landscape in South Asia. During the last decade, the number of

internet users has been tremendously increased, reaching around

65.13 million with the penetration rate of 31.19% in December

2019 (Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, 2019). There are

around 31.467 million Facebook users in Pakistan that comprise

15% of the total population of the country

(internetworldstats.com, 2019).

Considering the phenomenal growth of social media in

Pakistan, it is expected that online activism makes masses more

aware of their rights by providing them with an open platform to

discuss crucial issues and voice their opinions freely. Exposure to

different schools of thought and beliefs are likely to create an

empathic cyber environment, and an increasing awareness about

diverse humanitarian matters. The vigilant social media and everavailable

citizen journalism are expectedly leading to public

empowerment over the elite and ruling class, and make them

more conscious about their deeds and misdeeds by setting up an

Journal of Media Studies 36(1) effective check and balance mechanism, which is the core of

democracy (Islam & Ashraf, 2014). On the contrary, online media activists are often criticized for creating social unrest and public outrage on petty issues

through fake news, irresponsible reporting and sensationalism.

Breach of an individual's privacy and illegal, amateur expose of

legal and judicial matters represent the flip side of social media

activism in Pakistan (Islam & Ashraf, 2014).

In the absence of effective cyber laws, efficient regulatory

mechanism and sufficient digital media education, citizen

journalism and online activism are likely serve the vested

interests of media conglomerates and elite class and, therefore,

cause more harms than benefits (Zafar 2013). Thus, contrary to the

general expectations, online platforms are creating negativity,

cynicism, apathy and materialism. The urge to win popular vote

often lead the opinion leaders to highlight the petty issues while

the core matters of educational and economic progress are taking

a back seat (Abedin 2013).

To investigate the impact of social media on activism and

control of crime, both local and international research studies

were reviewed thoroughly. The empirical evidences in the context

were specifically focused. In order to do this, the data was

collected through the interviews of relevant activists and

practitioners besides an online public survey. The data were

triangulated and themes were extracted that pointed toward the

role of social media in criminal justice mechanism in Pakistan.

Hafeez Criminal Justice System & Impact of Online Activism

Literature Review

Modern interactive culture has empowered common people to

screen and interfere in the lives of fellow human beings.

(Andrejevic 2007; Niedzviecki 2009). Online media platforms

such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Whatsapp, enable users

to discuss anything and anyone, publish their personal details and

trigger mass movement asked for action. Besides, mobile phones

now allow live recording and broadcast of any offence to public.

Digital technology has thus blurred the boundaries between

online and offline worlds. It is disturbing as many digital

vigilantism activists may not be aware of the actual impact of their

actions (Ronson 2015).

There is an evidence that internet media in general and

social networks, in particular, are indispensable components of

citizen empowerment. However, these tools work best if they are

implemented in a society with strong overall capacity and

environment for collective action (Mungiu-Pippidi & Dadasov,

2016). Kossow and Kukutschka (2017) concurred that the

enlightened citizens can use internet access and social media to

update themselves about crimes and activate support for anticorruption

movements.

Rose and Fox (2014: 771) reportedly conducted one of the

debut studies about the effects of social media on communal

collaboration with the criminal justice set up. They reached to the

conclusion that while there is no evidence that social media

contributes to increasing mass awareness and trust in the existing

criminal justice system, it is proved that social media involvement

with criminal prosecutions triggers public demand for revenge

and reinforce watchful approaches and reactions.

Digital revolution can rightly be called an Asian

phenomenon. "From flash-mobs in Taiwan to feminist

mobilizations in India, from hybrid media strategies of Syrian

activists to cultural protests in Thailand, we witnessed the rise of

civil movements that present the civilians as a change agent.

(Shah, 2015: 10)." In this process of change, how digital media was

used and influenced various aspects of Asian societies are crucial

themes for empirical research.

Ashraf and Islam (2014:47) investigated the impact of

media activism on Pakistan society and endorsed that currently

social media is breaching all boundaries of individual privacy,

morality and good taste. Hafeez (2017) indicated that there is a

significant positive relation between the mediated exposure to

violent crimes and mental distress. She recommended trained

manpower with the public and private sectors collaboration, to

take the optimum benefits of online platforms for public

awareness.

Earlier, several researches were conducted to study the

connection between media coverage of crimes and public views

about criminality. Davis (1952: 325) discovered a positive link

between news intake and masses terror of crime. Subsequently, a

series of public surveys carried out in America in the 1980s

discovered that people who excessively attend the crime news are

increasingly conscious, and often anxious about becoming the

victims to real-life crimes (Einsiedel et al., 1984: 131-136; Okeefe

and Reidnash, 1987: 147-163).

Hafeez Criminal Justice System & Impact of Online Activism

Besides, a longitudinal study, analyzed the crime

reporting of leading US television networks between 1978 and

1998, resolved that the widespread public concern about

increasing crime rate as a significant national issue, is the result of

extensive coverage of crimes on-screen rather than the reported

incidents in reality (Lowry, 2003: 61-73).

Audience perspective about injustice and lawlessness is

crucial since the state's response to popular opinion often shape

policy decisions, social values, and sometimes even individual

attitudes. Adriaenssen (2019: 1) established that exposure to

mediated news is both directly and indirectly related to perceived

crime seriousness, wrongfulness, and harm severity. Media

violence and crime not only involved prone viewers but also

affected other social segments by cultivating fearful attitudes or

simply desensitizing them to real life agony through excessive

exposure to fictional violence (Hafeez, 2016).

Cohen (1972) introduced the term ‘moral panic’ to

identify the noticeable forms of mass perceptions and reaction to

media coverage of crimes and violence. Several experimental

pieces of research later reinforced Cohen's finding. One such

research investigated the coverage of capital punishment in print

media, and its impact on public opinion about it for around two

decades (from 1970s to 90s) mentioned that mass backing for

capital punishment was gradually deteriorated, parallel to the

wider media reporting about imprecisions in the legal

procedures, which often results into the execution of innocent

people (Fan et al., 2002: 439-452).

Journal of Media Studies 36(1)

Other subsequent work such as Tyler's book, ‘Why

people obey the law?’ (2006) found a solid indication that the

increasing media coverage of criminal cases is likely to reduce the

public faith in the corresponding judicial system, which is crucial

to the restoration of an effectively ordered, democratic society,

with due respect for its laws.

Theoretical Background

This study examines concepts of activism, vigilantism and

‘slacktivism’ from academic and popular perspectives and relates

these notions to the critical theory. Social media and technological

advancements have transformed how individuals and groups

create awareness, engage masses and demand for social change

and justice (Meyer & Workman Bray, 2013; Van de Donk, Loader,

Nixon, & Rucht, 2004; Diani, 2000). Using recent, high-profile

criminal cases as reference points enable us to examine prevalent

scholarly sources to critically analyze modern trends of online

activism and slacktivism, and associate the theoretical concepts of

agency and social change to current civil movements for social

justice (Glenn, 2015).

The word 'slacktivism' is a blend of the two terms 'slacker'

and 'activism'. It refers to the gulf between awareness and action

through the use of social media and shows a retreat from the

conventional concept of activism. Knibbs (2013) describes

slacktivism as 'feel-good back-patting' through viewing or 'liking'

analysis of social issues without any action. It needs nominal time

and effort, usually lacking utilization and evident impact in

resolving any social issue.

Methodology

This study adopted Rose and Fox's (2014) mixed-method

approach for data collection. It can broadly be divided into two

sections including an online public survey that was carried out

through a carefully-drafted questionnaire to gauge the

implications of online activism and citizen journalism on public

opinion related to the high-profile sampled criminal cases and

relevant civil movements on social media.

Subsequently, interviews of representative opinion

leaders including a civil rights activist, a journalists, a lawyer, a

policeman, and a psychologist were conducted with the help of

open-ended questions for an in-depth understanding of online

activism and its socio-cultural and political implications.

The purpose of using a combination of quantitative and

qualitative methods of investigation is to validate the authenticity

of the findings both on objective and subjective grounds with

certain cases as reference points in the national context.

Considering the fact, an elaborate questionnaire was

developed which was comprised of three sections. The first part

includes questions that deals with the demographics of the

sample population including their gender, age and academic

background. The second section comprises of questions, aimed to

investigate contemporary news-seeking patterns of the

respondents alongside ranking of popular social media platforms

as news providers in Pakistan. Whereas, the third section pertains

to the queries related to the role of these online platforms in

creating 'keyboard warriors', their influence on public opinion

Journal of Media Studies 36(1) and reaction to some high profile criminal cases and civil rights movements in Pakistan.

Sampling for Online Survey

Purposive random sampling technique was adopted for the

public survey. Two criteria were used to extract the required

sample considering the purpose of the study; firstly the

participants should fall between 16 and 35 age brackets and

secondly the participants should have an online presence with

active accounts on identified social media platforms

An online survey of 350 social media users was

conducted to assess the level of public engagement, especially that

of youth, towards high-profile criminal cases and related online

civil movements, from across the country. The questionnaire was

disseminated via social media platforms including Google,

Facebook, WhatsApp and personal emails to participants.

Sample Demographics

The public survey sample is comprised of 52 % men and 48 %

women, which is representative of the overall gender ratio in the

population of the country. According to the Pakistan Population

(2019) data the male, female ration in Pakistan is currently 51 % to

48 % respectively. The sample of the survey includes diverse age

groups representing teenagers and youth. Around 30 % of our

sample consists of the people, falling between the age range of 16

and 20. It is subsequently followed by 43 % people, aged between

21 and 25, 15 % ranged from 26 to 30 and 12 % representation of

people between the age of 31 and 35. More than half of our sample

i.e. 58 % are university graduates and students followed by 31 %

college and 11 % high school students. Since the scope of the study

is to assess the implications of online activism on youth and their

engagement in mass movements against crime, the focus remains

on the educated youth of Pakistan.

Research Questions for Public Survey

RQ1. Are the most popular sources of news for people in

Pakistan?

RQ2. Which are the most favorite online sources of news updates

for people in Pakistan?

RQ3. To what extent online social media platforms contribute to

public awareness about high-profile criminal cases and civil

society movements?

RQ5.How do people use social media to respond to such criminal

cases and movements?

RQ6.What is netizens' level of engagement with high-profile

criminal cases and civil movements on digital media?

Journal of Media Studies 36(1)

RQ7. Do digilantism and citizen journalism trigger hate and

gender-related crimes or curb them? How does it influence the

public opinion towards crime and justice system in the country?

Findings and Analysis

The news attaining habits of the sample in the current study

seems to be congruent the patterns identified by the Pew Research

surveys of audience habits, indicating perilous future for

traditional news media and a fast transition to the Internet, as the

primary source of news in young generation (Kohut, 2013).

Findings in Table 2 represent a major shift in trend i.e.

people, especially youth in Pakistan heavily rely on digital media

for news updates. Around 70% respondents said that they used

online sources especially social media such as Facebook, Twitter

and WhatsApp for getting news updates (Hafeez, 2013) besides

leading web browsers namely Chrome, Firefox, Explorer, Yahoo,

and websites of some leading media groups such as Jang, Dawn,

Express and Business Recorder

Hafeez Criminal Justice System & Impact of Online Activism

268

TV bulletins are still quite popular with around half of the

respondents (50%) utilize national news broadcasts as the main

source of news, followed by radio (32%), especially in far-flung

areas, and newspapers (11%) that are relatively less popular and

are gradually losing their status as the news source across the

world (Franklin, 2014) as well as in Pakistan.

Interestingly, some of the most popular news sites and

current sources of news were not even present in the last decade.

For example, it is calculated that around 50% of the sampled

population manage more than one social networking accounts

and approximately 90% have at least one account presently.

Facebook is the most popular platform with over 83% of

respondents having its FB profile followed by WhatsApp at 47%.

Overall, there are around 32 million Facebook users in Pakistan

that comprise 15% of the total population of the country

(internetworldstats.com, 2019).

In this context, it is perhaps not a surprise that around 60

% of our sampled respondents use Facebook as their main source

of news alerts and updates followed by WhatsApp, Twitter and

Journal of Media Studies 36(1)

269

Instagram with 13%, 9%, 8% and 6.5 % users' preference

respectively, even though these networking platforms are not

even meant for news collection and dissemination. Further,

around 13 % of respondents rely on relatively reliable digital

media sources including web browsers and websites of online

newspapers and channels' organizations, as indicated by Table 3.

Before investigating the assumed association between

citizen journalism and online activism, it is pertinent to assess

how aware the respondents are about some of the high-profile

criminal cases and civil right movements that have created

massive hype and appeared in top trends in Pakistan as well as in

global scenario recently.

Hollywood celebrities and take

up by activists globally including Pakistan to fight

against sexual violence and harassment by encouraging

victims to speak up, 2017)(Langone, 2018).

Table 4 shows that a large majority of the respondents (average

77%) were aware of the first four criminal cases that created havoc

first on social media and then, subsequently, took the mainstream

media by storm, in Pakistan as well as in the world in last two

years. Nearby 50 % of people recognized online feminist

movements #Metoo and #Timesup in our sample, which is yet a

big number. This level of familiarity is quite surprising and

considerably high in the ignorant Pakistani society, where still the

literacy rate is 58% only (Ministry of Finance; Education, 2018).

Table 5 indicates that a large majority of sample youth

attained news and updates about high-profile criminal cases and

civil right movements mainly through online media, which

represents a major shift in the news consumption and

engagement patterns of the users that is also affecting the

mainstream news media industry.

Findings in Table 6 show whether these social media

users participate proactively and somehow contribute or respond,

by personally reposting or posting news about the cases from

their online profiles as a 'news participator' a term used in the Pew

Research (2013).

Certainly, the percentage gets down, with around 83 % of

the respondents in total claimed that they posted once in a while.

The percentage is varied between 5% and 33 %, depicting varied

levels of the respondents' engagement, concerning the sample

high-profile criminal cases and movements, as mentioned in

Table 6. Mostly, online engagement ranged from liking a post and

leaving a comment to posting and reposting the news, views and

videos for the dissemination of news as well as awareness and

initiation of dialogue and debate that often contribute to opinion

building within one's online social circle. Nevertheless, it signifies

a substantial percentage of the population that is consuming

social media to get involved with popular criminal cases and mass

movements.

From ten to thirteen per cent of the survey respondents

shared that they tried to communicate with the perpetrators and

victims of the criminal cases respectively. This level of public

engagement was unimaginable before the advent of social media.

Besides, a substantial proportion of survey respondents

i.e. 20.5 % reportedly being invited to join social networking

groups devoted to criminal cases and around 17 % of them

responded to such invitations positively. Though there is a

comparatively lesser percentage of survey participants who

accepted to create ever an online group related to a criminal case,

around 8 % said that they did encourage other people to take

action, which directly targets the suspected perpetrator of a crime.

However, a search of Facebook pages using the names of

Hafeez Criminal Justice System & Impact of Online Activism

perpetrators and alleged perpetrators reveals dozens of different

types of groups – some provide updates about the high-profile

samples criminal cases, others devoted to conspiracy theories, and

there are rest that seems to track the activities and personal lives

of victims and perpetrators alike.

Interviews

Interviews of sampled opinion leaders including an online media

activist, a journalist, a lawyer, a policeman and a psychologist

were conducted with the help of an open-ended questionnaire for

an in-depth understanding of online activism and its implications

on public opinion and judicial system in the country.

Interview participants and background description

Though several online activists and opinion leaders were

approached initially, five professionals from distinct relevant

fields of law, judiciary, journalism, health (criminal psychology)

and human rights were shortlisted as the purposive

representative sample for interviews. Three out of five

interviewees were women, which is indicative of the fact that in

rape and honour killing cases, female activists seem to be more

vocal online, a trend that is just contrary to the offline activism

culture in Pakistan. The participants are all relevant professionals

and all of them are informed and actively involved in the online

movements related to the sampled high-profile cases. It is

recognized that their personal and professional involvements

with the sample crime cases and identified themes might

influence their opinion about the issue but that is the need of the

study and a part of the criteria for sample selection.

All interviews from five opinion leaders were recorded

(either manually or audio-taped) in Karachi. The duration of each

interview was between 15 and 20 minutes, excluding initial

briefing and informal discussion. The participants were given a

chance to discuss the interview questions and objective of the

study before recording began, so that they could be clear about

the purpose of the interview session and answered comfortably.

Considering the suggested guidelines, a questionnaire

was developed before the interviews. Patton (1990) advocates that

it is vital to prepare an interview guide, comprising of a list of

questions, to ensure that all the relevant subjects are covered. This

format allows keeping the questions open-ended, and structure of

the interviews flexible enough to accommodate the additional

information provided by the participants voluntarily during

interviews.

The interviews for this study were comprised of two

components. Primarily, the interviewers asked about the positive

influences of online activism on public opinion and authorities

(judicial) response to sampled criminal cases—particularly

sensitive crimes such as rape, honour killing and blasphemy.

Subsequently, respondents discussed the negative effects of

online activism and civil right movements in rape, honour killing

and blasphemy cases, especially its impact on victims' lives and

the very cause of justice in society.

Finally, the recorded interviews were transcribed and

theme-coded. It was done to identify the common and distinct

issues in the data and also to show the diversity in the accounts of

the interviewees. The thematic content analysis helped the

researcher to highlight patterns within the data. The precision of

the contributors' responses was ensured by sharing with them the

transcribed interviews and incorporate pertinent amendments to

their feedback.

The following two research themes guided the study into

what determines the positive and negative influences of online

activism with reference to social justice in high-profile criminal

cases including rape, harassment, honour killing and blasphemy

offences.

Online coverage and activism in high profile cases bring

issues to limelight and often leads to speedy justice.

The nature and content of crime reporting is very

important. Harassment, rape, honour killing and blasphemy are

serious criminal offences and quite often instigated by faulty

social values and beliefs. These crimes, thus, need to be reported

both on social well as in mainstream media to highlight the

shortcomings of the legal and judicial systems in a well-rounded

manner to aware masses and shape public opinion. However,

highlighting only one aspect of such cases or trivializing it proves

to be a negative influence.

As respondent A said that social media proves to be a

strong tool for circulating news and views. She believes that the

rape case of Zainab, the honour killing case of Qandeel and the

blasphemy case of Mashal Khan got due attention in mainstream

media because of digital media. Besides, online activism affects

these cases positively as the criminals in all the three cases got

sentence from courts due to media-generated public and political

pressures (Rana, 2018).

Public outrage exhibited on social media and

subsequently reported by the mainstream media in Pakistan did

spur action on part of the government in the high-profile sampled

cases.

Commenting on the potential role of social media,

respondent B added, that people are influenced by what their role

model believes in, that is the reason why actors and models with

a huge fan following set out to create awareness regarding child

rape and honour killing cases. It reaches a wider spectrum of

audience and thereby makes a wider impact as well. Following

that, respondent C highlighted the role of social media in these

words, Socio-cultural setup of Pakistan doesn't encourage rape

and honour killing victims and their families to take legal action

against the perpetrators mainly due to stigma and false

perception of honour attached to women's body. However, in

recent years, online platforms set a precedent and opened up a

discussion about taboo issues and offence. Because of social

media, these crimes are giving increasing coverage besides being

discussed in public, which is indeed a good sign and a first step

to resolve them.

Violation of code of conduct and ethical issues in online

coverage of gender-based crimes is prevalent

Given our societal norms of stigmatizing victims of sexual

crimes, it is not appropriate to post pictures of the victims or their

family members or reveal anything that leads to their

identification. Besides, it is also against the journalistic code of

conduct across the world. However, what happened in such cases

is a blatant violation of media ethics and human rights in our

society.

Respondent D said that the media should've been careful,

regarding the content shared. It's a part of the code of conduct in

journalism to refrain from breaching the privacy of victims. For

instance, bombarding pictures, names and addresses of the

victims and even that of perpetrators (as happened in Zainab,

Qandeel and Mashal's cases) on social media were unethical both

for civil and social media journalists. She believed that being

professional, journalists must take consent of the parties involved

in criminal cases, especially the ones dealing with rape, honour

killing, harassment and blasphemy that usually involve

vulnerable sections of the society including women, children and

minorities.

Respondent C summed it up in these words, “Privacy is

a very basic right of an individual, and even if laws do not ensure

it, ethics and norms should.” Whether we like it or not, even the

criminal has rights so posting the pictures of victims and even

accused are against ethics and journalistic code of conduct, agreed

upon by the mass media worldwide.

Online Activism distract attention from real issue and adversely

affect the proceedings and judicial inquiry.

The danger in case of the hyper drive, online activism is

that the media gets involved in weaving conspiracy theories

rather than reporting it sanely with empathy as it was evident in

Zainab, Mashal and Qandeel's cases.

Respondent A shed light on the same concern, social media often

divert focus from the real issues. In gender-based crimes against

minors, media needs to highlight measures for child protection,

safety, and elimination of sexual offenders, which was simply

neglected in the media circus of conspiracy theories.Sensitizing or

rather desensitizing public through sensational or reckless media

coverage of such crimes is another major area of concern.

As Respondent E rightly said, the language of media coverage

must not shift the blame to the victim like it was the parents' fault

that they went without their child (referred to Zainab's case whose

parents were travelling when she was raped and murdered) and

instead of shaming the victims or their families, the language

should be very objective and straight without amalgamation of

any melodrama. Careless and dramatic reporting of heinous

crimes often leads to the immense public outrage, which could

simply harm the real issue rather than resolving it.

Discussion

An inefficient justice system, lack of victims 'resources

and political influence from perpetrators are often highlighted as

some of the main causes of an increasing rate of crimes and low

rate of formal reporting with police and other law enforcement

agencies. Unfortunately, in the absence of media coverage and

public pressure, even the cases filed often handle casually and

hardly resolved.

Ideally, the efficiency of action and enforcement of rule of

law eliminate the need for social media outrage and online civil

movement for justice, however, it is not realized yet. Thus as

Respondent A commented, “Until that happens, it is pressure

built by all quarters including social media and civil society that

will get us to the point when the state institutions fulfil their

responsibility seriously.”

Digital and social media are relatively free platforms in

comparison to electronic and print media, however, with freedom

of speech comes responsibility and a social media activist shall be

cautious about.

As respondent C commented, "Since the information in

digital space is a public property that reaches mass audience, one

has to be careful in reporting and covering sensitive issues on

social media because that information can be used against the

victims as well as the activists alike."

On the other hand, respondent E believed that excessive

media coverage of crimes harms the public psyche. She said,

"Excessive and irresponsible media and online coverage of rape

and honour killing cases have become an everyday norm for the

masses and they get desensitize to these issues in real life."

In Pakistan, online activists and citizen journalists are as

free as anyone else, but it can be risky too because certain

institutions and state are intolerant of hardline views, especially

when gender, politics and religious matters are involved.

As respondent D said, While posting graphic content

online, there is an option to add 'explicit content ahead', it's a fair

warning to people who are vulnerable due to their age,

background or endurance level to avoid it. Unfortunately, this

practice is not widely adopted in the rape and honour killings

cases in Pakistan.

While online activism and civil movements played a key

role in providing justice in the sampled case, it often failed to

highlight the real causes of child rape, assault and murder of nonconformists.

Zainab, Qandeel and Mashal cases were just the tip

of the iceberg. Shahrezad (2016) rightly mentioned that a number

of such cases were never unearth, and while the online activists

might rejoice over their small victory, another such victim may be

crying over a similar case.

What we need to understand is that online activism is a

temporary outburst, not a permanent solution to social evils. We

ultimately need an effective and efficient legal and judicial system

and institutional support to discourage the trend.

Conclusion

This research study offers an initial evaluation of how the growth

of online media has affected public attitudes and actions towards

high-profile criminal cases and the overall civil right and justice

system in context. Finally, we have three primary findings:

Firstly, people are certainly using social media as a key

source of attaining and disseminating news updates about highprofile

criminal cases. Social media networks including Facebook,

Twitter, and WhatsApp, are serving as leading newsgathering

and disseminating means for a majority of people, especially

those under 36 years of age.

Secondly, social media practices about popular criminal

cases have had a nominal influence on public understanding of

the existing legal and judicial system as well as civilians trust in

the criminal justice set up. Overall, mass awareness and trust

levels are considerably low, irrespective of the fact that the people

are social media user and online activists or not; rather heavy

exposure to criminal cases and procedures make common people

more cynical about law and order situation in general.

Thirdly, social media motivate and provide a wide array

of platforms and opportunities to its users for civil and collective

activism. Masses can form networks, communicate to fellow

citizens around the country, and even directly communicate with

trial participants. One aspect of this greater participation that we

uncovered was an amplified inclination towards revenge and

demand for mob or mass justice as happened in Zainab and

Asifa's cases where people demanded public hanging of the

criminals in Kasur and Kathua (Kashmir) respectively (Deb,

2018).

Limitations and Recommendations

The purpose of this research is to fill the gap in the academic

literature regarding digital media as an emerging source of news

dissemination and opinion building. To research the issue from

diverse perspective, we used mixed method. Perhaps future

studies will focus more on experts' opinion including jury,

lawyers, psychologists, social media activists and opinion leaders.

Diversity of method, in-depth qualitative and longitudinal

quantitative study with different samples taken from all across

the country, regarding high-profile online criminal cases, might

help to validate the finding of the current research. It is highly

recommended that more such studies should be carried out in

Pakistan and other South Asian countries, preferably as

comparative analysis, to investigate the possible implications of

popular social networking sites on mass reactions, variations in

individual behavior, civil movements and activism.