This Columbus, Ohio story has now went nationwide. First reported by the Columbus Dispatch last week, the video states, "My name is Matthew Cordle and on June 22, 2013, I hit and killed Vincent Canzani. This video will act as my confession." If you haven't seen it yet, check out the video above.
The criminal case is yet to be determined. But, what interests me, at this point, is the media reaction to this video. As of this posting, there have been 1.1 million views (probably mostly news reporters) of this video. In multiple articles, from nbcnews, SF chronicle, LA times, and the guardian, the coverage has been manly positive - even giving sympathy to Cordle, because, in the video, he's giving a message of Do Not Drink and Drive.
But hold on, says Angela Canzani, the daughter of the man who was killed by this drunk driver. In an article from the New York Daily News, she says Cordle "would not cooperate with the police or with the insurance company" for the past three months. She also states that he just wants a "lighter sentence."
How effective are Online Confessions? Do they even matter? I guess the first task is to make sure they are real. Also last week, there was an online confession from the site PostSecret that was making the media rounds. According to an article from CNN, there was a message on the site confessing to the killing of a woman. A few days later, police stated that the confession was a hoax, from this cbsnews story.
In this age of social media where you can say anything and post anything, whether you're Matthew Cordle, or Paula Deen, or Anthony Weiner, or (insert your celebrity or politician here), there will be consumers out there. Will it have a big impact on your professional or personal life? I guess we will be the judge of that...