The New Milk Carton Campaign: An Analysis of Social Media Engagement with Missing Persons’ Cases

Abstract

The unique feature of social media as a platform for news is that the public can directly engage with content. In this way, the public shapes the narrative on current issues, including crime. Criminal justice agencies have leveraged this engagement to relay information about missing persons’ cases quickly and efficiently to a large audience. Whereas previous research has explored disparities in news coverage of missing persons’ cases, it is unknown whether the public perpetuates these same disparities in the social media realm. This study contributes to the current literature by examining public engagement with missing persons’ social media content. Results suggest that engagement along some dimensions corresponds to disparities found in traditional news coverage, namely with regard to race, where marginalized victims experience less engagement. Further, there is evidence of an interaction between race and runaway status. Certain posting behaviors are also related to several forms of user engagement with missing persons’ posts; however, case characteristics remain prominent engagement-shaping factors. Implications for these findings are discussed from both a theoretical and practitioner standpoint.

“My mother is not newsworthy”: Framing missingness in Israel

“…However, both frames failed the empirical credibility test. This failure stems mainly from what the missing civilians are not: they are far from the "ideal victim" type (Jeanis et al, 2021;Slakoff and Fradella, 2019)-because they are suffering from mental health issues, for example, or simply because they are civilians and not soldiers serving the country (Kaplan, 2008). This paper, therefore, contributes to the literature about media and newsworthiness by pointing to "ideal victims" criteria and how it influences the news value of missingness stories in Israel.…”

“…In the absence of a clear closure and with the significant ambiguity that characterizes them, missingness stories do not lend themselves to media coverage. Admittedly, the advent of new media, led by digital social networks, has created new opportunities for constructing missingness as "news," increasing public awareness of such cases (Jeanis et al, 2021). But even the use of the new media does not obviate the desire for broad coverage in the traditional media.…”

The sociology of missing women: Evidence from the national missing and unidentified persons system

“…News and media coverage of missing person cases is vital for law enforcement agencies and families as it can make a missing person's case known to the public and may lead to more information regarding the case. The media chooses attractive, eye-catching stories that are meant to induce an emotion in their audience (Conlin & Davie, 2015;Jeanis & Powers, 2017;Jeanis, Powers, Miley, Shunick, & Storms, 2021). The media tends to focus on missing person cases involving women and children, however.…”

“…Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, YouTube, and other social media platforms have become increasingly popular for discussing cases that have less popularity by the local and national media outlets. But according to Jeanis et al (2021), this does not stop racial biases from occurring in these social media platforms. Social media posts that involved cases of missing White individuals had far more responses and comments than those cases involving a missing person of color.…”

“…Social media posts that involved cases of missing White individuals had far more responses and comments than those cases involving a missing person of color. Not only is a missing person case involving a white person more favorable in a marketable aspect, but it is also more favorable at an individual level (Jeanis et al, 2021). Individuals on social media are more likely to share posts containing missing White females than cases involving missing females of color.…”