Fake profiles of some of the boys arrested for the Palermo rape have been popping up on TikTok in the last few hours. These accounts take old videos of real profiles, reposting them with phrases referring to the episode of violence. For example, a new account of Christian Maronia (who is currently in pre-trial detention for aggravated sexual assault) was recently created: old videos were posted inside, six in particular, with sentences defending him, such as «When all of Italy blames you for a private thing, but no one knows that you have been dragged by your friends», or «With what courage people insult the innocent», and again «I don’t consider myself guilty of anything». Could the profile that essentially defends the boy be managed by someone close to him? “Those videos are absolutely fake. The family will file a complaint and dissociate themselves,” the family said.
The caption of one of the videos reads: «I am an innocent and good soul and I would never hurt anyone because I am an educated boy. I hope people can understand that I was dragged along by people I shouldn’t have even made friends with.”
The background – Palermo, the rapists do not repent: “She was there”. The 18-year-old self-confessed offender is already out, he is in the community
The case – Rape of Palermo, Ermal Meta: “My tweets dictated by anger. I have not unleashed any hate on social media”
Throughout the country, but especially in the South, there are many people who are looking for the video. Girl, rape, Palermo, video: these three words, which condense the terrible events in Sicily into a sort of url, are the most clicked on. Yes, because it’s not a question of wanting to read the news, to understand what happened and where: in this case it is a question of searching, in the depths of the network, for the video that immortalizes the herd in action, the images of the aggression, of listening the lively voices of those who, alone, shouted to stop and of those who, in groups, encouraged each other to continue.
The intervention – Valditara: “Let’s fight violence in schools to spread the culture of respect”
The surge in the search for the words “Palermo girl video” is recorded online on July 22nd. Not just on search engines. In particular, the video is searched on Telegram, where it was uploaded. The searches “video girl Palermo telegram”, “name girl Palermo”, “video girl Palermo twitter” also undergo a surge in the same days. The peak of research requests comes from Sicily, but this is understandable given that the facts take place in this region. The searches from Campania, Puglia and Calabria and, gradually, from all over Italy followed at some distance.
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