OPINION: Yesterday, animal rescue charity Paw Justice posted a video of what appeared to be a kitten being bludgeoned to death with a rock by a girl.
It was a sickening, cruel act of violence. Within hours it was shared hundreds of times, racking up tens of thousands of views.
The woman, Paw Justice alleged, may have been from Invercargill. They appealed for help identifying her.
Across an assortment of Facebook community pages, accusations flew.
A girl was identified as the alleged culprit. Then another. Then a third. All who were supposedly, definitely, the blonde girl seen in the video.
First the trio's names were shared. Then their phone numbers. Then their home addresses.
Within the span of a few hours, these girls were plagued with messages. We know this because those who messaged them were proud.
"I sent her death threats," one person posted on a public page alongside an assortment of emojis, including two laughing faces.
"I would seriously drive to your house... and smash you over the friggen head w a cement block," another wrote, on the same public Facebook page.
Others posted screenshots they sent one of the accused.
"People ARE going to put you in a ditch," one messaged, before 'Liking' a public comment suggesting they "mishing tomorrow".
Is this the New Zealand we live in? Instead of reporting it to authorities, this sickening video drew an equally sickening response.
There is absolutely no guarantee any of the girls who were identified were actually in the video.
But even if one of them is: does a case of abuse justify another? An eye for an eye, perhaps?
If the video is as it appears, and the young kitten was cruelly beaten to death, justice will be served. And it won't be by Facebook.
Whether they're guilty or not, I don't think the court of social media and threatening to bash someone's head in is the right way to go.
Breanna Barraclough is a social media producer for Newshub.
