On April 9, California police began investigating an alleged murder confession posted on social news and entertainment website Reddit.
Reddit, a user-created social website, features diverse news and entertainment from all over the world. “Redditors” – a nickname for those who regularly visit the website – often take advantage of their anonymity to post their thoughts that they would not reveal in real life.
One of the most popular forms of entertainment on Reddit centers around memes. A “meme” is an idea or behavior that spreads within a culture. Within Internet culture, memes are often expressed within images that are shared on social media platforms.
“Confession Bear,” one of the most widely used memes, brings laughs to people for its mostly light and laughable confessions. For this meme, users post their confessions in the form of text displayed over a sad-looking bear. However, a Confession Bear posted by the user Naratto, who has been identified as San Diego resident Colton Ryder Goodbrand, was not something to laugh at and pass by.
“My sister had an abusive meth addict boyfriend,” said Goodbrand’s bold post. “I killed him with his own drugs while he was unconscious and they ruled it as an overdose.”
Redditors, who often espouse their sense of justice, researched Goodbrand’s Reddit profile and decided to report the meme to the FBI. “Guys, it’s cool, Police can’t internet,” mocked user VonStrangle for Goodbrand’s daring decision to post about his alleged murder so openly online.
The story quickly gained national attention, and the website Gawker reported Goodbrand’s identity in an April 10 post.
This incident also stoked the interest of many high school Redditors, including Woodbridge High junior Jacon Burde.
“I was actually shocked to find out that someone was careless enough to post such. I cannot believe how bold people are these days. Maybe it’s because they think they can hide and keep their anonymity forever online,” Burde said.
It is not clear that whether the image was created a joke or an actual confession. Goodbrand called the murder allegations a “rumor” in a letter to Gawker that also threatened the site with legal action. Although the police have yet to conclude whether or not a murder even occurred, San Diego’s Cold Case Unit is reportedly trying find the truth behind this shocking Confession Bear.
