[forapurpose]

> This was probably the first time this had ever happened. (If it had happened before, it surely would have been spread far and wide by social media & the press.)

That is a very big leap. Social media might be widespread, but almost everything in the world goes unremarked upon. Think of all the news stories that turn up an old tweet or Facebook post that, if anyone had paid attention at the time, would have stopped events from progressing.