Just for the record, reddit ran with it after picking it up from (I think) the police scanner.

This is true. I remember firsthand the #scanner hashtag on Twitter and various re-streamers broadcasting the scanner online, as CNN and other outlets were trying to confirm facts and keep up coverage.

It was a surreal experience, and it showed both the strengths and weaknesses of crowdsourced tweets as "news". You get a lot of info, about how people think and feel but the facts being thrown about can be faulty and need to be confirmed independently. It wasn't until the unfortunate events in Ferguson a year and a half later than a similar kind and intensity of social media coverage ensued.

I'm sure 4chan is held to a higher standard.