The spouse of a presidential candidate “borrows”, in her support speech, some of the exact words used by the spouse of the current president, also in a support speech just a few years before. Plagiarism undoubtedly, but did she really deserve the excoriation she received not only in mainstream media, but especially on social media such as Facebook and Twitter? A dentist on a hunting trip in Africa shoots a lion.The news hits social media in a flash. I don’t like hunting, especially of wild lions, and don’t think much of the dentist for doing it. But I question whether his actions were enough to warrant his having to close his business and move his family out of their home because of vigilante threats. Many of those involved in the 2011 Stanley Cup riots inVancouver were named and shamed in social media. Some lost their jobs, probably deservedly, and were expelled from universities, probably deservedly, apart from facing court charges.Whether they merited death threats to themselves and families, however, is very questionable indeed. Social media (and I’ll use the term as a collective noun) certainly has a dark side.