Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Facebook Party Invite Goes Viral, Sparks Dutch Melee

Thousands descend on Haren, along with riot police

By John Johnson,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 22, 2012 7:38 AM CDT

(Newser) – Oh, the importance of privacy settings. A Dutch girl sent out an invite via Facebook to her 16th birthday party, which ended up getting viewed by about 30,000 people. Last night, a crowd estimated at 3,000 showed up in the small town of Haren, and the ensuing vandalism, looting, and clashes with riot police left six people hurt and 20 arrested, reports the BBC and Reuters. Many sported "Project X" T-shirts, a reference to the movie about a party that gets out of hand, reports NBCNews.com.

The birthday girl "posted the invitation on Facebook and sent it to friends, who then sent it to other friends and soon it spread like wildfire across the Internet," a local police official says. Facebook, though, might be able to help undo the damage: A new "Project Clean-X Haren" page sprang up after the unrest and already has more than 23,000 likes.

A screen grab from a YouTube video from Haren.
A screen grab from a YouTube video from Haren.   (YouTube)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
My TakeCLICK BELOW TO VOTE
47%
2%
14%
3%
20%
15%
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 7 comments
HarryBeaver
Sep 22, 2012 9:31 AM CDT
Why can't the moderate trolls do more to control the radical trolls?
penders900
Sep 22, 2012 9:04 AM CDT
Yes we Hollanders are crazy
Imhotep
Sep 22, 2012 8:44 AM CDT
Obviously not much for teenagers to do in Holland these days other than cause chaos. I guess it's in the air and heading this way.
 

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Timelines   |   POPSUGAR Tech   |   Business Insider   |   HuffPost Entertainment   |   NewsOne