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Media & TerrorismThe Power of Propagation

2Introduction

• Definition of Terrorism• Criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of

terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular persons for political purposes (UN General Assembly Resolution 49/60)

• Terrorism is not a conventional war – it’s a psychological war

• The target are not the victims only – it’s general public

3Introduction

• The method of psychological war• Maximizing the effect of an incident by propagating the

violence to a large audience.• It’s not about creating danger but about creating the

perception of danger.• To reach the audience, terrorist depends on media.• By helping terrorists in achieving their aim, media

appears as an accomplice to the terrorist.

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World-Wide Publicity

MediaActual Terrorist Incident

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The Negative Role of Media

• How media helps the terrorists in achieving their purpose:• Exaggerating the problem of terrorism • Misinforming public and Spreading false alarms• Provoking overreactions• Legitimizing the terrorists’ acts• Romanticizing the terrorists and making them appear as

heroes

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EXAGGERATING THE PROBLEM OF TERRORISM

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Exaggerating the problem of terrorism

• “People will believe a big lie sooner than a little one; and if you repeat it frequently enough people will sooner or later believe it” (Adolf Hitler)

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Exaggerating the problem of terrorism

• Too much coverage• For 444 days, the American news media gave 24 hours

coverage to the seizure of Tehran embassy.• The video clip of twin tower attack was repetitively shown

for hours• The Indian media portrayed Mumbai attack as similar to

9/11 through over-coverage of the event• Coverage initiating before the first confirmed news and till

the last prophecy

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Exaggerating the problem of terrorism

• What is the biggest problem for the world?• Domestic Violence• Murders• Usual diseases like flu• Terrorism

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Exaggerating the problem of terrorism

• Some facts to surprise you• During 1967-1978 in Israel, 272 people died of attacks from

Palestinians while several thousands were murdered• In USA, only 80 people died in terrorist attacks but 20,000

were murdered• Over 10,000 people died annually due to domestic violence• Flue kills 36,000 people annually • People killed in 9/11: 3500

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Exaggerating the problem of terrorism

• Media gives more coverage not to the frequent acts but to the unusual and alarming acts, making the situation appear worse than it actually is.

• People outside Karachi or Pakistan believe that it is constantly convulsed by terrorist attacks but we live a normal life and visitors often get surprised by not finding a trace of such acts.

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MISINFORMING PUBLIC AND SPREADING FALSE ALARM

13Misinforming Public and Spreading False Alarm

• “The news isn't there to tell you what happened. It's there to tell you what it wants you to hear or what it thinks you want to hear” (Joss Whedon, Astonishing X-Men)

14Misinforming Public and Spreading False Alarm

• Gives only half of the truth by focusing on the sensational part of news, not the informative one• The focus is on the blood, the gore, the horror of the victims

• Little contextual information• Chunks of events with missing in between stories

• Uneven coverage of events• Time of London ignored 43% and The New York Times

ignored 44% of incidents of International terrorism.• More coverage to hijacking and hostage crisis than bomb

blasts

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PROVOKING OVER-REACTION

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Provoking Over-reaction

• Anti-state sentiments• Misperception about government efforts in combating

terrorism by focusing only on few dramatic events rather the overall anti-terrorism and counter-terrorism policy.

• Ending moderation and patience from the society• Anti-Islam sentiments in the West• Growing divide between left and right wingers in Pakistan

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Provoking Over-reaction

• Contribute to public support for drastic measures to counter terrorism• “Extensive qualitative media analysis shows that

political decision-makers quickly adjusted propaganda passages, prepared as part of the Project for the New American Century (PNAC), to emphasize domestic support for the new US role in leading the world.” (Altheide, 2007: 287)

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LEGITIMIZING THE TERRORISTS ATTACKS

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Legitimizing Terrorist Attacks

• Letting terrorists explain their reasons for committing these crimes

• Discussing the factors “compelling” people to become terrorists

• Provoking the would-be terrorists by making terrorism appear as a self-perpetuating phenomenon

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ROMANTICIZING THE TERRORISTS AND MAKING THEM APPEAR AS HEROES

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Romanticizing the terrorists

• Contagion effect – terrorist attacks of one kind occurring in clusters • Reason?

• Broadcasting their names and pictures across the screen and giving them credit for these heinous acts serves only to inflate warped egos.• Recently at the death of Waliur-Rehman, the TTP

commander was lionized by the media as someone who died a hero’s death after living a militant’s life

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SOLUTION

23Solution

Media Policy• Defining a formula for coverage hours• Promoting investigative journalism• Banning appearance of terrorists on

media• Devising a punishment mechanism for

misinforms and exaggerators

24References

• Altheide, D.L. (2007). The mass media and terrorism. Discourse and Communication, 1(3), 287-308.

• Jenkins, B.M. (1981) Embassies Under Siege: A Review of 48 Embassy Takeovers 1971-1980. (R-2651-RC). The Rand Corporation.

• Jenkins, B.M. (1981) The psychological implications of media-covered terrorism (No. RAND-P-6627). Santa Monica, CA: The Rand Corporation.

• Kelly, M.J. & Mitchell, T.H. (1979). Transnational Terrorism and the Western Elite Press. Paper presented to the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Political Science Association, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. May 30 1979.

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Thank You