When users of Reddit misidentified Sunil Tripathi (pictured here) as a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing, it set out an avalanche of hate and misinformation on social media.
The young man has been missing for more than a month and his family did not need the added stress of hearing that their son was a killer.
Reddit has now formally apologized publicly for the mistake, reports The Telegraph.
“We have apologized privately to the family of (the) missing college student, as have various users and moderators,” wrote Erik Martin, Reddit’s general manager. “We want to take this opportunity to apologize publicly for the pain they have had to endure.”
You can read more on how this mistake on the crowd sourcing site happened, in The Telegraph.