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Cornell 7 case: Who is Michael Tracey and why is #IAmJaneDoe going viral on social media?
Women are posting "I am Jane Doe" online to support the woman suing Cornell and seven fraternity members.
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A wave of women is taking to social media and saying, “I am Jane Doe,” in support of a Cornell University student who is suing seven fraternity members over an alleged 2024 gang rape. The online campaign has grown as people push back against efforts to reveal the woman's identity.
What is the Cornell case?
According to Reuters, a woman says seven fraternity members raped her at Cornell University in 2024. She was 20 years old at the time. The men are accused of gang rape. She filed a lawsuit on September 16. She is suing the seven men, Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and others.
Prosecutors had first closed their criminal investigation without charging anyone. And her lawsuit led them to reopen it.
As per Reuters, New York Governor, Kathy Hochul appointed the state attorney general as a special prosecutor. On Friday, Hochul criticized police and prosecutors, saying they had not fully investigated the woman's claims.
The New York Times reported that the accused men have denied any wrongdoing.
Why is #IAmJaneDoe going viral?
One woman posted, then another, and another, until a trickle became a flood. Countless women, and some men, posted that they were Jane Doe. The posts came as video, photo and text on many social media platforms.
According to Reuters, New York law allows sexual assault victims to use the name “Jane Doe” in lawsuits to protect their identity. However, her lawyer said she is distressed because some people online are trying to find and publish her real name.
Some people began posting “I am Jane Doe” to support and protect the woman online. They hope that a large number of people using the same name will confuse online algorithms and make it harder to identify her.
Many women are posting across social media like:
Amee Vanderpool, who publishes a Substack newsletter. She wrote on X: "To anyone who is looking to find out the identity of Jane Doe in the Cornell rape case, look no further, because it's Amee Vanderpool." She added: “I am Jane Doe.”
Another girl, on Instragram posted, “They are trying leak the identity of Jane Doe. We won't let them. It's me. I'm Jane Doe.”
One woman, wrote on Instagram, “i am jane doe. my villain origin story basically lol”
Who is Michael Tracey and why is he facing backlash?
According to Munk Debates, Michael Tracey is an independent journalist based in Jersey City, NJ. He is best known for his contrarian remarks on Twitter, where he has more than 274,000 followers. His writings in recent years have appeared in Federalist, Fox News, the New York Daily News and the Wall Street Journal. He has also written for outlets like Daily Beast, HuffPost, Salon, Mother Jones, Vice and The Nation.
Tracey has drawn backlash for trying to find out her real name.
He describes his effort to identify the student as journalistic diligence protected by free-speech rights.
Tracey posted on Monday: “Let's see if anyone has the 'balls' to name this Jane Doe so we can all evaluate her veracity, and that of her lawyers, since her lawsuit didn't hesitate to name & shame 7 of her peers as gang-rapists.”
The woman's lawyer, Thomas Giuffra, said the efforts to identify her were an attempt to shame her. "She's not doing well," he told CNN. "She's under siege on social media." He also said some women had been wrongly identified as his client. "That's been really difficult," he said. “And she's gone through a lot.”
