Walter Palmer's online shaming: Social media revives medieval-style public humiliation

The killing of a Zimbabwean lion by an American dentist is a vivid reminder of how, in this era of social media, it's a virtual jungle out there.

Big game hunter Walter Palmer joins a growing list of individuals - famous and not so famous - who have been publicly, even ruthlessly shamed on Twitter and Facebook, the village stocks of the 21st century.

"He needs to be extradited, charged and preferably hanged" for slaying game park lion Cecil, said animal rights group Peta.

"I hope you burn in hell," echoed several other Twitter users as #CecilTheLion became last week's hashtag du jour. Stoning, torture, even being fed to the lions were further suggestions posted online as Palmer went to ground and Zimbabwe called for his extradition.

"Public shaming through social media is clearly a way that people in our society informally 'punish' those who violate the rules, even if the rules of our society aren't law," said Lori Brown, a sociology professor at Meredith College in North Carolina.

"It is similar to the public stocks and just like that kind of punishment, some are content with simply ridiculing the person, but others may want to throw things or even harm this person."

Some have found themselves in the cross hairs of social media shaming by discovering the hard way that humour doesn't travel well in a 144-character tweet.