(WGGB/WSHM) -- What happens when a murder investigation goes viral? The new challenges prosecutors are facing when the internet becomes part of the case.

In the past, most investigations moved at the pace of police work; from interviews, to warrants, and lab results. Now, they can move at the speed of a share; something that can help investigators find new leads but also create false narratives that distract from the facts.

Western Mass News spoke with Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni, who explains, “One thing that comes to mind is the creation of images and video with artificial intelligence that can be used to sort of confuse an investigation to create things that, you know, would mislead investigators or potentially mislead jurors at some point.”

He goes on to tell us that in his district, AI hasn’t had a major impact on day-to-day investigations, yet. However, he expects it will, as the technology becomes more common and more convincing.

According to an October 2025 report from the council on criminal justice, researchers are warning that AI can introduce new risks from false or manipulated content to general confusion around what’s authentic and what’s not.

Gulluni also tells Western Mass News, “Social media is absolutely playing an enormous role... We can communicate about investigations that are ongoing. We can communicate with people about where they need to draw their attention to be safe. And we can communicate about the work we’re doing on behalf of the public through our social media accounts. Those are the good things, right? But there are definitely some bad things that are going to come with social media and that have.” He points to social media being used to sell drugs, escalate conflicts, and recruit or target victims.

Researchers from the American Sociological Association say social media can provide powerful investigative leads, but raises concerns around interpretation, especially when posts are shared, edited, or taken out of their original setting.

“Someone posts something for public consumption… It’s not private or behind some sort of wall that can be viewed by investigators and can be used as an aspect of investigation. But things that are private or things that are entered as one’s personal information on a social media account, just like what might be in one’s house, investigators can’t see publicly, we would have to get judicial authorization,” the District Attorney continues.

Online speculation can do real harm, especially when it fuels conspiracy theories around open cases. Starting in the Spring of 2025, social media users right here in New England were looking to connect several murders in the area. This led to a larger conspiracy that went viral, claiming that there was a serial killer in our area.

Gulluni commented on these beliefs, telling us, “There was no reason to believe that; there was no evidence to support that. And I made that very clear to the public. But nevertheless, that narrative really grew on social media. And I think it caused a lot of fear and consternation for a lot of people.”

Investigators say the challenge ahead will be using these tools to protect the public, without letting misinformation become a part of the case.

Copyright 2026 Western Mass News (WGGB/WSHM). All rights reserved.