Why it’s important to pause for thought before launching a trial by social media

As a social media editor, watching the trajectory of ‘culture war stories’ is exhausting, especially when it comes to Jussie Smollett

When news broke on 29 January that Empire star Jussie Smollett had been brutally attacked in Chicago, it spread like wildfire on social media.

Attention wasn’t drawn just because the incident involved a popular TV star – it was also a racist, homophobic attack, with sinister elements involving a noose and talk of being “in Maga country”.