Katie

According to John Connolly, social media is the real problem in Canton. Not police misconduct, not cover-ups, not bizarre evidence-handling techniques—just a bunch of keyboard warriors stirring up unnecessary trouble. But let’s take a moment to appreciate what social media has actually done for the town OF CANTON . Spoiler alert: It’s less of a villain and more of a very inconvenient flashlight exposing all the things some people wish had stayed in the dark. 1. Social Media Didn’t Kill Peter Berger—Chris Albert Did Tragic accidents happen. And in the early ‘90s, Peter Berger was killed on Route 95. But here’s the twist: social media didn’t run him off the road. Chris Albert did. This little fact might have stayed buried—except, oh no, Chris Albert ran for Select Board. And suddenly, we started talking. What a shame! Imagine having to answer for something decades later just because someone brought it up on Facebook. The true crime, of course, wasn’t the death of Peter Berger. It was the fact that people found out. THE CRIME ACCORDING TO JOHN CONNOLLY WAS SOCIAL MEDIA 2. Social Media Didn’t Kill a Dog—The Police Did (and Covered It Up) You’d think that a pet left to die in a hot car at the station would spark immediate accountability. But instead of justice, we got silence. No public outrage, no disciplinary action, just a quiet little oopsie. And then, damn you, social media! Someone had to go and talk about it. Because the real problem here isn’t the reckless death of a trained police dog—it’s that people online wouldn’t let it go. 3. Social Media Didn’t Hand Over Stop & Shop Bags as "Evidence"—The Police Did Now, if you were conducting a professional, airtight investigation, you might reach for, say, an evidence bag. But why do that when you’ve got some Stop & Shop bags and a few Red Solo Cups lying around? (Because nothing says “serious police work” like the supplies from last weekend’s cookout.) The real scandal? Not that an investigation looked like a frat party clean-up—no, the outrage is that social media saw it and told everyone.Proper evidence handling is a cornerstone of law enforcement—unless, apparently, you work in Canton. Then, a Stop & Shop bag and a Red Solo cup make the cut. Because when you think of a serious criminal investigation, you definitely think of someone grabbing whatever’s in their car and calling it a day. Did social media stage this embarrassing excuse for a crime scene? Nope. we just noticed. And that, according to Connolly, is the real scandal. 4. Social Media Didn’t Bring Free Pizza to the Polls—Chris Albert’s Campaign Did Few things scream election integrity like handing out free pizzas to voters. And sure, this little slice of democracy went mostly unnoticed at the time. But then social media had to ruin everything by mentioning it on **Canton Confidential and Canton Voices and other pages 3. Social Media Didn’t Kill Sandra Burchmore—It Just Wouldn’t Let You Forget The official story? Suicide. Case closed. Move along. Except… oops! Social media noticed the glaring inconsistencies, the tangled web of police involvement, the things that didn’t add up. And instead of obediently swallowing the narrative, people actually kept asking questions. If only they’d just let it go, right? 4. Social Media Didn’t Write "LOL" on Evidence—The Police Chief Did Oh, but how dare social media be outraged about this? Just a little casual evidence-tampering humor, folks! Lighten up! If only people weren’t so sensitive about professionals handling crucial evidence like a middle school prank war. The real crime, in Connolly’s eyes, isn’t a police chief scribbling “LOL” on evidence—it’s the fact that someone posted about it online. John Connolly and others may prefer a world where social media didn’t exist—where inconvenient truths stayed buried, investigations remained unquestioned, and the public just nodded along without asking pesky questions. But like it or not, social media is not the problem. It’s just the flashlight exposing everything hiding under the rug. And if the things it’s exposing are embarrassing, corrupt, or downright horrifying? Well… maybe that’s the real issue. But sure, let’s all blame the flashlight.