After 20-year-old Indiana University student Lauren Spierer went missing early last Friday morning, friends used social media as one way to get the word out. Their efforts have helped organize the search for Spierer and turn her disappearance into a national news story.
A Twitter account, @NewsOnLaurenS, started reaching out to news outlets like CNN and the Indianapolis Star on Sunday. The account now has about 10,000 followers, almost as many as the latter media outlet.
It’s been used to tweet updates, distribute a photo flier, organize search parties and promote a fund set up by the IU Hillel to support search efforts.
News of the situation has also shot across Facebook: 126,000 people have agreed to attend a Facebook eventtitled “URGENT! Please help spread the word about Lauren Spierer’s disappearance!” and a Facebook page,find.lauren, has been liked by more than 20,000 people.
A handful of celebrities, including Eliza Dushku and Miranda Lambert, have tweeted messages about Spierer’s disappearance, and several major news outlets like Fox and ABC have helped spread the word by picking up the story.
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