Media and terrorism

By Giacomo Spinelli, Carlo Luciano Garbarino and Selene Crovetto

What is the role of media when it comes to terrorism?

● The media should aim to inform people, however they often go beyond that
● The media can control the spread of information
● Only some kinds of terrorists and attacks are given attention (mostly those about Muslims)
● Terrorists use the media for spreading their propaganda
Are media helping terrorists to reach their goals by spreading their messages?
● Short answer : Yes
● when medias share the stories they become unwitting accomplices in helping terrorists spread their
message of fear.
● the media “traumatizes” the audience by exaggerating the threats → spread the messages and the feelings
of terror due to the fact that they show terrorist attacks all over again
● The spread of public terror, fear and feelings of chaos depends largely on the images and messages being
carried by media reports
Can you justify the role of media when it comes to terrorist?

-The role of media when it comes to terrorism is justified because, the medias are the main information
spreadders and people have the right to know if there has been a terrorist attack.

-Even tho by spreading information about terrorism they help terrorist organizations, medias have the
duty to inform people.
Are the media creating terror itself?

● The media tend to amplify events

● By doing generalisations about terrorists
and terrorism, the media instill a certain idea
in people’s mind
● This instilled ideas are often stereotypes
that cause people to be scared by only a
specific group of terrorists
● An example: people are much more scared
by Islamic terrorism rather than far-right
terrorism which however did more attacks in
the US
Sources
● https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/25/how-changing-media-changing-terrorism
● https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-47626859
● “5 Of the Most Swoon-Worthy Cars, from 007's Hallowed Hardtop to a Moonshot Sedan.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio
Canada, www.cbc.ca/documentarychannel/features/terrorists-go-social-how-we-help-spread-their-message-of-fea
● Bilgen, Arda. “Terrorism and the Media: A Dangerous Symbiosis.” E, 24 July 2012,
www.e-ir.info/2012/07/22/terrorism-and-the-media-a-dangerous-symbiosis/.
● http://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/X2H-Xref-ViewHTML.asp?FileID=10914
● Terrorism and social media - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org › wiki ›
Terrorism_and_social_media