You shouldn't need a viral story to get justice in America

The internet is saving innocent people from prosecution. That's a problem.

A thumb on a scale.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Bill Chizek/iStock, REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst, EvgVect/iStock)

If you get arrested in America, it helps to have a lot of Twitter followers.

A rash of viral stories over the past few years has revealed something troubling about American justice. Too often it is dependent not on a system that safeguards rights, but on whether a person has the right or right number of supporters.

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Shoshana Weissmann

Shoshana Weissmann is the digital media manager and a policy fellow at the R Street Institute. She manages RSI's social media, email marketing, and website. Her likes include occupational licensing reform, not regulating tech wrong, and long walks on the beach while talking about the Supreme Court. And sloths.