Perspective

The Mean Tweets of New York

Tracking gang conflicts on social media is controversial, but it can help community members and law enforcement get ahead of shootings—without arrest and incarceration.
At a news conference in 2013, NYPD officials announce the arrests of several gang members. Monitoring the social media of reputed gang members has drawn criticism from civil liberties advocates. AP

In obscure inlets of social media, young urban men and women provoke each other in virtual vendettas that can turn deadly IRL. “Cyberbanging,” the unfortunate moniker for this phenomenon, often starts with harmless, slangy boasts on social media. Here’s one Twitter user’s call to New York City’s 100 Cloccs crew.

But these boasts sometimes escalate to threats, shootings, and reprisals.