The widespread use of social media means that literally hundreds of millions of pieces of new content are being posted daily. This information contains a wealth of personal information about millions of people: their locations, families, friends, interests, lifestyles, education, employment, opinions and much more.
This is invaluable data for employment screening. (See our previous blog for issues you should consider before using social media as part of your employment screening process.) It’s also helpful for many other investigative applications, too many to review in this blog alone.
This article covers how social media monitoring can mitigate threats at special events and support litigation.
Special Events
Let’s say you are the director of security for a company that has its annual shareholder meeting in a month. You are concerned about potential disruptions to the meeting by individuals or groups who are not friendly to your company.
With an internet/social media monitoring platform, an investigator can find references to your company, the event venue and key company personnel. He or she can then refine those results by applying threat terms, such as “protest” or “demonstration.” This monitoring can be conducted both leading up to and during the meeting.
The individual(s) or organization(s) behind any content of interest can be researched, their specific social media accounts identified, and an in-depth analysis of those accounts performed to further assess potential risks.
Since many social media posts are tagged by location, a “geo-fence” can be set up around the location of the meeting to capture any posts made in proximity to the meeting. This location-based search can identify specific threats to the meeting. For example, a protest group may use social media to coordinate the actions of its members. A geo-fence can also spotlight other happenings in the area that could disrupt the event, even if those activities (such as an accident or law enforcement action) are unrelated to your event.
Litigation Support
Social media searches can be useful for asset searches to determine whether a lawsuit would be worthwhile. For example, subjects who post about exotic vacations or expensive sports cars may demonstrate that he or she has the means to satisfy a judgment (or has been hiding assets to avoid paying a judgment).
In a lawsuit, social media monitoring can find information that strengthens your position and/or weakens the position of the opposing party. For example, if an individual claims to have been injured and holds you responsible for the injury, monitoring social media for content that indicates they are engaged in sports or physical activity would undermine that claim.
Researching the social media feeds of witnesses for the opposing party can reveal other important insights:
- Patterns of activity or behavior that support or undermine a position
- Opinions that contradict statements made by witnesses
- Identifying the location of a witness for surveillance purposes or for process serving
- Establishing connections between the witness and other individuals to show relationships and to find potential biases
Remember, the opposing party may also be conducting social media monitoring on your witnesses, so it is prudent to research your own witnesses to identify weaknesses your opponent may try to exploit. Their long-forgotten social media posts could undermine your case.
If you have any questions about social media monitoring tools or strategies, please contact us.
