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Bill Cosby survived accusations of sexual assault for decades until viral social media outrage took him down in a matter of days.

Digital operatives recognize that Cosbys fall is sure to be an unusual case, given the severity of what more than a dozen women have said he did, including several who had not spoken out before.

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But strategists also see Cosbys fall as a case study in how social media can spread old news to new audiences with speed and efficiency dramatically different from what any previous generations of political candidates have encountered.

So while opposition researchers retool their digital approach ahead of the 2016 presidential race, when social media will be even more important, theyre planning how to use these digital platforms in new ways to reignite the controversies in their opponents past as part of their campaign strategy.

(Also on POLITICO: Was Chuck Hagel the wrong man for the job?)

The Cosby situation isnt unique to Hollywood celebrities, said Vincent Harris, an Austin-based GOP digital consultant who worked for Mitch McConnells 2014 campaign and recently signed on as top tech strategist for Rand Pauls political operation. The same situation could take place in politics, with decades old information, videos, and events coming to light and with enough online drive behind them, they could ignite a firestorm. People online are relentless and politicians must work hard to harness the searches and information seeking of voters, channeling them into a medium where they control the message.

Part of the reason the past does well on social media is the audience. Users tend to be younger and may not have lived through the first cycle of the story years ago.

Old news is actually new news, GOP strategist Kevin Madden said.

The stuff that happened 15 years ago is a window into how they arrived at this moment, Madden said of how the next generation of voters might find things newsworthy and help propel them to go viral. Its a window into their resume and a window into the kind of person they are.

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Second life on social media

ITV Report 25 November 2014 at 2:38pm European police said internet technology allowed the 'industrialisation' of people trafficking. Credit: DPA

People traffickers are exploiting social media and the internet to entrap and control victims, forcing them into prostitution and other criminal activity, the head of the European policing agency has warned.

Europol director Rob Wainwright said that advertisements on sites like Facebook promising work in childcare or cleaning were used by criminal gangs to draw in vulnerable young women.

The traffickers then used internet technology such as webcams to monitor their victims, controlling their movements ensuring they turned up to work in brothels or other criminal enterprises.

Speaking to the Centre for Social Justice think tank in London, Mr Wainwright said the use of modern technology had enabled the "industrialisation" of the traffickers' activities, allowing them to control many more problems.

"Facebook is effectively being used in many cases as the means to attract and then enslave vulnerable young women," he said.

"They (the traffickers) are using the modern technological tools to more efficiently monitor an increasing number of victims.

"So instead of paying them a visit every day they can use the webchat services but also webcam cameras to confirm that they are where they should be, they are in that brothel waiting for the next customer.

"In the past, the pimps and traffickers had to do that by physically visiting them.

"Now they can just do it at the click of a button and therefore control 50 victims much more easily and readily in virtual form.

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People traffickers 'controlling 50 victims at once using webcams'

When St. Louis County prosecuting attorney Robert McCulloch delivered the grand jury decision not to indict Darren Wilson for any crimes in the shooting of Michael Brown, McCulloch found a new perpetrator to blame instead: social media. Apparently Facebook and Twitter, where many of the initial accounts of the shooting were shared, really cramped local law enforcements ability to control the narrative around the shooting.

On August 9, Michael Brown was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson, McCulloch said. Within minutes, various accounts of the incident began appearing on social mediaaccounts filled with speculation and little, if any, solid, accurate information. McCulloch then proceeded with his bizarre lecture, crediting the August protests that followed the shooting to social media and, oh, one more small, insignificant factor: the underlying tensions between the police department and a significant part of the neighborhood.

As McCulloch detailed the steps of the investigation, he made an outrageous claim: the most significant challenge encountered in this investigation has been the 24-hour news cycle and its insatiable appetite for somethinganythingto talk about. Following close behind were the nonstop rumors on social media.

One might think a significant challenge to Ferguson law enforcement would be how to communicate effectively and safely with the residents whom they serve. Maybe they should try Twitter.

Its true that the 24-hour news cycle and social media feed each other. Social media can and often does foster and exacerbate conflict. Not everyone sharing information online does so as a public service. But does McCulloch really want to say that it would have been easier to conduct this investigation if so many people hadnt been paying attention? And most important, did he really want to make that the focus of his speech?

Needless to say, social media didnt create the underlying tensions between the Ferguson police and residents, but it did help share its relevant contexts, like the staggering racial disparity in arrests.

McCulloch admitted that he can recognize, of course, that the lack of accurate detail surrounding the shooting frustrates the media and the general public and helps breed suspicion among those who are already distrustful of the system. And yet, despite that historically hard-earned suspicion and distrust, his message remained here is why you should trust the system.

No doubt McCullochs job would have been easier if everyone in Ferguson, St. Louis and the rest of the country had sat back and patiently waited to be told what to think. But that is not how humans respond to trauma, especially when the roots of the trauma lie in law enforcement and other institutions of authority. Humans talk sharing anger and frustration and fear, trading gossip and confirmed facts alike.

Sure, social media also opens an investigation up to more scrutiny. But to complain about that in the wake of this heartbreaking decision was a pretty unbelievable feat of misdirection.

Read more:
Ferguson prosecutor blasts social media, outrageously misses the point

Another Prick In The Dil
Keep it peaceful. 🙂 Lyrics below We don #39;t need no patronizing We don #39;t need no media control Enda you #39;re a prevaricator Taoiseach leave our kids alone Hey! Taoiseach! Leave our kids...

By: Anuderpric Indadol

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Another Prick In The Dil - Video

Media release

7 November 2014

Battle for our Birds protecting Catlins mhua

The Department of Conservation tomorrow (Saturday 8 November) begins its Battle for our Birds pest control in the Catlins to protect an important at risk population of mhua/yellowhead in the beech forest.

As well as mhua, the operation will protect long-tailed bats/pekapeka at risk from rising predator numbers fuelled by heavy beech seed-fall.

DOC Catlins ranger Cheryl Pullar said monitoring results show there has been a full silver beech mast in the Catlins and rapidly rising rat and mice numbers.

Monitoring of rodents has shown that mice are increasing throughout the forest and are particularly dense in lower altitude areas where tracking is at 78%. This will trigger a stoat plague over the summer, just as mhua are nesting and trying to raise their young. Rats are not at worrying numbers yet but will soon bounce back, Cheryl said.

These birds are particularly vulnerable to predation by rats, mice and stoats because they nest in holes in trees.

The aerial 1080 predator control will knock down rodent and possum numbers. Stoats will also be reduced as a result of eating poisoned carcasses.

A pre-feed operation begins tomorrow with aerial application of non-toxic baits over 10,100 ha of conservation land in the Catlins.

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Battle for our Birds protecting Catlins mhua