In this module’s discussion question is pretty straightforward. How has the globalization of mass media, and the development of social media and Web 2.0 affected terrorist and their organizations reaching the real targets on their attack? Has this resulted in the change in the tactics they employ? Discuss at least three specific terrorist attacks to support your answer.
I will need responses in this format I will post the responses in the drop down below. For your “Question/Comment”, answer any question I pose to your initial post, ask a question of comment on the other student’s post on your discussion team. For your “Response Posts” respond to and questions or comments on your initial post from the other students.
Utilize proper citation
TITLE: Understanding Terrorism: Challenges, Perspectives, and Issues 7th Edition AUTHOR: Martin, GusPUBLISHER: Sage PublicationsDATE: 2020ISBN: 978-1544375861
Post 1
How has the globalization of mass media, and the development of social media and Web 2.0 affected terrorist and their organizations reaching the real targets on their attack? Has this resulted in the change in the tactics they employ? Discuss at least three specific terrorist attacks to support your answer. The use and expansion of social media and the internet on a global scale has led to changes in terrorism and terrorist organizations. In the previous discussion on the four waves of terrorism, I had made the argument that widespread shifts in technology and the use of media will or may have already led us into a new fifth wave. It is important for law enforcement and counter-terror agencies to consider the effect of media and technology when analyzing and identifying terrorist threats. According to a site published by the Council on Foreign Relations terrorists can use the internet to, “share information, coordinate attacks, spread propaganda, raise funds, and recruit.” (Kaplan, 2009) Terrorist websites can be used for long distance communication among members of a terrorist organization, where new information regarding targets or training in tactics can be shared. Communication between terrorist cells is now especially dangerous, as the internet allows leaders to plan out and plot new attacks without the challenge of distance. The 2015 Paris ISIS attacks for example, were a series of bombings, shootings and hostage takings that were plotted in Syria but shared to an ISIS cell in Belgium to be carried out in Paris, France. ISIS leaders in Syria were able to successfully devise a plan and used the internet as a means of communication to ensure it was carried out in France. Social media and the internet can also be used by terrorist organizations to spread propaganda to recruit potential followers around the world. White nationalist and far-right terrorist groups most notably have had success using the internet and social media to spread their ideologies among like-minded people which has led to successfully carried out terror attacks. The Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand were a string of far-right inspired shootings carried out by a lone attacker, Brenton Tarrant, who had been using social media and extreme right wing blog sites to sympathize with islamophobic ideologies. Following the attacks, investigators had found online conversations on social media sites like Facebook and YouTube and far-right webpages where Tarrant would discuss killing Muslims and made threats to carry out shootings with other users. The most important use of social media and the internet is to increase the fear factor that is the major goal of most terrorist attacks. Terrorist often carry out attacks and use terror among the public to bring attention to their causes and ideologies. Social media and mass media allows for the instant sharing of ongoing terrorist attacks which can easily create a sense of fear among a group of people. Professor Cozine makes this argument in his article Social Media and the Globalization of the Sicarii, stating that terrorist groups seek to create a spectacle with their attacks and “want it to be broadcast around the world, and view the media as an essential means of furthering their agenda and spreading their message.” (Cozine, 2016) The role of mass media and social media in the spectacle of terrorism is clear and Professor Cozine goes on to state, “the media covers sensational events regardless of the cause or origin, and while people have the right to know what is going on around them, media coverage does amplify terrorist attacks.” (2016) An example of one such attack that was amplified by media coverage is the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, in which the perpetrator Stephen Paddock, opened fire on a festival concert from an elevated position killing 58 people. Social media coverage of the attack was widely shared during and after the attack, with people in the concert providing live coverage on their social media accounts. Mary Blakenship discussed the use of the site Twitter in the coverage of the shooting stating that, “the first public account of the shooting came from a tweet about ten minutes after the first shots began” and that Twitter was the “crucial element in the communications of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) throughout the emergency and the investigation that followed. (Blakenship, 2020) Blakenship states that as helpful as Twitter was in this attack, it also created “chaos and confusion” at the scene, and misinformation began to quickly spread online, “there was a huge variety in the accusations, conspiracies, and falsehoods that were spread online concerning the shooting.” (2020) Some of these included the possibility of multiple shooters and misinformation on the identity of the shooter as either a Muslim extremist with ties to ISIS or a far-left extremist who acted on anti-Trump ideologies. The 2017 Las Vegas shooting shows how social media can elevate an already critical situation into one of confusion and fear through the spread of misinformation. While mass media and social media is a great way for people to get real time updates on events as they happen, it can also be a source of fear and chaos, which only adds to the spectacle of terrorist attacks and furthers the goal of terror in terrorism.Blankenship, M. (2020). How misinformation spreads through Twitter – UNLV Libraries. How Misinformation Spreads on Twitter.Cozine, K. (2016) Social Media and the Globalization of the Sicarii. Global Security Studies . Winter2016, Vol. 7 Issue 1, p1-12. 12p.Kaplan, E. (2009). Terrorists and the internet. Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved October 18, 2021, from https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/terrorists-and-internet.
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