I am sure in the 20,000 are, included, top brass at the Pentagon, worldwide journalists (for clues), minions and bootlickers in the basement of the DNC seething in fear and jealousy at how we manage to do it, the National Security Council, American MSM, and hundreds upon hundreds of Americans wanting news from a quick, alternative source that beats the dinosaurs in many ways--maybe even the President of the United States himself.
Excellent points. When a big story hits- we start digging- lots of us and sometimes in that process we hit a dead end or identify the wrong John Doe. But what’s great is the teamwork- when someone learns they’ve gone down the wrong road they simply change direction. It’s important for lurkers to understand (though I’m sure not all do) that digging for facts is ongoing- it’s a scavenger hunt- not paint-by-numbers. We don’t start out knowing all the facts and just fill in the details.
I’ve seen other sites do this a little bit -but I’ve never seen anything like the collaborative effort of freepers on the trail of a story.
And trolls on a Media Matters mission, some
of whom are suddendly very engaged n00bies
and/or sleeper FReepers here.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2457491/posts?page=2420#2401