I have had experiences with "multiple" posts on the same topic. I know that if I post the same article as someone else, after it is up - and despite having searched just before posting, I hit "abuse" and ask that my own article be removed. On the other hand, in this case, there were several different sources, with slightly different content being posted (as best I can remember, given that they are all gone now). That is easily solved after a few minutes by the posters crosslinking their threads as as often been done in the past.
Another approach to solve the deleted thread problem would have been to pull all the duplicates from the sidebar, but leave them on the board, so that if you want to go back and compare how the initial reports came out, the information would be there.
One of the great features of FR is being able to go back and grab that unspun snapshot of a breaking story. There is a quote floating around the net that the only facts you can get are the ones in the first few days - after that it is all spin.
I have great faith that the moderators selected for the site are tough enough to withstand any sense of hurt feelings that other folks have ideas about how to prevent problems.
We do get great suggestions from people which we try to impliment when possible. A lot depends on the software capability.