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  • 2019-02-20 (xsd:date)
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  • Did Facebook Posts Describe a Real Attempted Kidnapping Involving an Uber Driver in Tampa? (en)
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  • Kidnapping linked to sex trafficking has emerged in recent years as among the most pervasive fears in online forums and on social media in the United States. Facebook posts that describe close calls or thwarted abductions often go viral, feeding off of and further fueling existing fears about the activities of criminal gangs and traffickers, in particular along the United States' southern border. Many of these warnings are no more than unsubstantiated rumors or urban legends, as we have examined in detail on many occasions over the years. In early 2019, an incident involving an Uber driver in Tampa, Florida, went viral on Facebook, stoking the fears of millions of readers, as Facebook user Emmy Hurley wrote on 19 February: The claims contained in Hurley's post, that she had been the victim of an attempted kidnapping perpetrated by a sex traffic worker, appeared to be corroborated in another Facebook post later that day, this time by a woman who presented herself as Hurley's intended Uber driver, Cristin Cinquino, who wrote: Cinquino's post was deleted on 20 February, but an archived version can be read here. Her version of the story further fueled its spread, adding the ominous specter of a warehouse and a boat where they ship all these victims away, as well as claiming that Hurley had almost lost her life in the incident. In reality, both Hurley's and Cinquino's accounts were false. Hurley did enter the wrong Uber at Tampa International Airport on 18 February, but she was the victim of no more than what Tampa police called a simple mix-up and not a life-threatening, attempted kidnapping linked to a sex-trafficking operation. In response to our inquiries, a spokesperson for Tampa Police Department clarified what actually happened, writing in an email that: We asked Tampa Police Department whether they had any evidence of a more general recent or ongoing pattern of attempted or successful kidnappings involving Uber or taxi drivers, and in particular incidents related to sex trafficking. The spokesperson was clear in the response: We don’t have any credible information that reveals a trend or pattern of attempted or completed kidnappings involving ride-share drivers or taxi companies within our jurisdiction. (en)
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