As social media has grown in popularity over the last 20 years, naturally, it has established a strong grasp on society. With shifting politics, liberal media has been shared online with content regarding laws, society, and political figures in a negative or positive regard, increasing. Recently, Supreme Court cases have taken a significant role on social media, with public sway beginning to influence the decision due to popularity. Bail funds have been raised online by supporters of defendants, which can be up to $3 billion. 

     Social media has become a resource in the courtroom in criminal cases. Any posts, messages, and videos posted or shared can offer insight into the intentions behind the criminal action. This kind of evidence is often used in violent crimes, domestic violence, sexual assault, drug crimes, and white-collar crimes, as it can provide critical information during a trial. 

     Large social platforms, such as Instagram, allow political content to pop up on the pages of users based on personal signals. Often, criminal cases will be widespread throughout social media when they involve celebrities whom many people follow online. The cases being spread on the internet can usually result in a trial outside the courtroom. The online publicity of cases frequently leads people to pick sides or argue for better sentencing for those involved. 

     Social media involvement allows the public to form their own opinion. However, it can also impact the fairness of the trial. The jury evaluates the evidence, how reliable it is, and what to believe. If social media tells us what to think and what is and isn’t true without going through the process of analyzing the evidence, this could lead to an unfair trial, which everyone has a right to. 

    With the constant stream of criminal content provided to the public, there is an underlying perception that crime rates are increasingly higher than what is statistically accurate. With media coverage creating this perception, some people may now be afraid to live their lives normally due to the fear of crime.