I'm glad these 2 innocent men are suing the NY Post. I hope they win their lawsuit & I hope they win big, if for no other reason than to give a big smack-down to irresponsible so-called *journalism*.
I also think that those who participated in the witch hunt need to take a good, long look at themselves in the mirror. I remember when all this was happening, and I regret to say that I read many posts here back in mid-April that expressed confidence that these 2 innocent men were the terrorists, simply because they looked "foreign" and may have been wearing a white cap and/or carrying a black backpack. It was repugnant then, and it became even more repugnant after the FBI released the footage of the true suspected terrorists.
IMO, so-called *good intentions* are not a justification for participating in accusing someone of terrorist acts, nor is it an excuse to blame the NY Post - since the NY Post didn't have any official FBI footage of the actual terrorists before they published their outrageous accusatory photos of 2 innocent men.
I think each and every person who participated in the witch hunt (make no mistake - it WAS a witch hunt) needs to take a good, long look at themselves in the mirror, and ask themselves "What if this had been me who was the target of unfounded terrorist accusations and speculation" or "What if this had been someone I know & love who had been unjustly maligned in such a despicable, public manner"?
Hopefully, folks have learned a lesson. I wonder how many folks who participated in the online witch hunt are worried about being named as the next potential defendant in this defamation lawsuit? If it were me, I'd be losing sleep over it.
Word to the wise: be careful what you post on a public forum, especially since these 2 innocent men WERE NOT by any legal definition recognized as public figures or limited public figures when photos of them were published online. They were innocent bystanders at a public event, whose images were coincidentally captured on someone's camera & subsequently published on the internet.
As I stated in the opening paragraph of this post: I hope the plaintiffs win their lawsuit, and I hope they win big.