Philly Sports Twitter Personality '@FanSince09' Uses Social Media To Solve Hate Crime Before Police Can

Still doubt the power of social media? A Philly sports Twitter personality cracks open a hate crime case for police.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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@FanSince09, a Philadelphia sports fan whose Twitter account has become locally famous for skewering everyone from athletes to politicians to Benghazi conspiracy theorists, has made national news overnight after using his social media prowess to identify a group of people who allegedly beat up a gay couple in Center City Philadelphia.

Video was released last week by Philadelphia police of a group of men and women who attacked an innocent gay couple by kicking them about the head and chest so viciously the two later required surgery, one suffering facial fractures and the other needing his jaw wired shut. In the days following the release of the video, police still had few leads. That's when Twitter sprung into action.

Feeding off a picture of the supposed group tweeted by The Real Housewives of New Jersey star Greg Bennett, @FanSince09 used clues from Facebook and his Twitter followers to find check-in information for the group, later identifying members and contacting police.  The story was initially picked up by a local Philadelphia FOX affiliate, but has gained traction to the point where @FanSince09 was featured today on Good Morning America.

And even with the serious nature of what transpired, @FanSince09 stayed in character throughout like a Twitter version of Stephen Colbert:

The full series of events can be seen below thanks to a Storify created by Melody Kramer.

[via Crossing Broad]

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