Do we need the de-sensationalisation of terrorism in the media?

Where is the line between people having access to fair journalism and free reporting contributing to the spread of terrorism propaganda? As we can see in Damien Gayle’s article in the Guardian, terrorist attacks survivors and the media representatives do not seem to agree on the balance of how much protection terrorist attacks’ victims need. Understandably, free journalism is paramount for transparent and fair reporting on terrorist events. However, how to balance the two? In this post, I will look at this question from the position of de-sensationalisation of terrorism in the media.

There is a well-known problem of creating a workable terrorism definition: the more we try to include in one definition, the more terrorism becomes anything and potentially everything. This approach may result in the threat of terrorism being seen everywhere, especially by corrupt regimes. Therefore, the importance and danger of the threat of terrorism are being diffused as people would see it being used unfairly against political opposition. However, at the same time, the threat of terrorism is assigned the highest priority in politics, consuming more political will and resources. There is a need for a change in our perception of the terrorist threat as something ultimately exclusive or exceptional to combat such omnipresence of the terrorist threat.

What is the de-sensationalisation of terrorism reporting?

De-sensationalising the threat of terrorism by unveiling its uniqueness would simplify our theorising of terrorism and limit opportunities for political actors to use the threat of terrorism for political gains. We should aspire to convey that terrorism, as a type of political violence or a threat, is not unique and is one of the possible security threats but not the one. De-sensationalisation would contribute to preventing political actors from profiting off the terrorist threat. 

Why do we need to de-sensationalise terrorism in the media?

De-sensationalising the threat of terrorism is unavoidably connected to the media and its coverage of terrorism-related content. The media plays a crucial role in shaping the perception of terrorism by how terrorism-related content is reported (Nacos, 2007; Seib & Janbek, 2011; Steuter & Wills, 2008; Wilson, 2020). Not all media want to accept their responsibility for how they cover terrorism, in their constant chase after sensations and being the first to report the news without exercising due diligence (Sageman, 2014). Steuter and Wills (2008, p. 24) fittingly summarise the media’s input in fostering the special treatment of terrorism through creating highly emotional content: “They’re [hysteria, indignation, rage, and fear] useful to governments, because they allow us to be manipulated by carefully selected experts who know how best to play upon emotions in order to enlist us in approving their policies and powers”. Such an approach facilitates the potential of the terrorist threat being abused by nurturing the exclusivity of the threat and the need to respond to it urgently (Altheide, 2006; Buzan & Hansen, 2009; Hess & Kalb, 2003; Vultee, 2010).

De-sensationalisation of the terrorist threat would allow downplaying the artificially shaped emotional compound of terrorism presentation, helping to decrease the “hype” surrounding terrorism-related content. De-sensationalisation would deprive corrupt political actors of some tools to present the terrorist threat as all-pervading and existential. Calls for this approach can be found in the literature on the media and terrorism, in various shapes and levels of engagement, but never before de-sensationalisation was so important to discuss (Altheide, 2007; Hess & Kalb, 2003; Seib & Janbek, 2011; Steuter & Wills, 2008). The modern era of fake news and intense media engagement in politics, combined with an unprecedented amount of reporting happening via alternative media (for example, YouTube, personal blogs, and TikTok), could be the time to reconsider our approach to how we present and consume terrorism-related content. 

Conclusion

It can be seen that our theorising of the terrorist threat has significantly developed during the last twenty years. However, there are still shortcomings: the absence of a clear and feasible terrorism definition that creates opportunities for power abuse. The consequences of the terrorist threat being used for power games may result in irreversible societal and political change. This is not an exhaustive list of the weaknesses in modern terrorism theorising, but an attempt to illustrate that, despite all the best effort of dissecting every word of terrorist manifestos and trying to track every move of potential terrorists, terrorism is and will remain to be “varied, ever-changing, and eternal”, as the Dark Arts (Rowling, 2005, p. 169).

Today, after more than two decades of studying modern terrorism and practising counter-terrorism, we face dramatic technological accelerations in our lives. We have immediate access to news and can watch live feeds on multiple platforms. However, this technological advance poses the problem of limiting the spread of terrorists’ propaganda and assessing how it would influence free and fair journalism. There is a need for a proper discussion of free reporting and protecting the victims of terrorist attacks. De-sensationalism of terrorism can be one of the ways to address an uneasy balance between journalism and public protection in both political and ethical spheres.   

References

Altheide, D. L. (2006). Terrorism and the Politics of Fear. AltaMira Press.

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

Buzan, B., & Hansen, L. (2009). The evolution of international security studies. Cambridge University Press.

Hess, S., & Kalb, M. (2003). The media and the war on terrorism. Brookings Institution Press.

Nacos, B. L. (2007). Mass-mediated terrorism: The central role of the media in terrorism and counterterrorism. Rowman & Littlefield.

Rowling, J. K. (2005). Harry Potter and the half-blood prince. Bloomsbury publishing.

Sageman, M. (2014). The stagnation in terrorism research. Terrorism and Political Violence, 26(4), 565–580.

Seib, P., & Janbek, D. M. (2011). Global terrorism and new media: The post-Al Qaeda generation. Routledge.

Steuter, E., & Wills, D. (2008). At war with metaphor: Media, propaganda, and racism in the war on terror. Lexington books.

Vultee, F. (2010). Securitization. Journalism Practice, 4(1), 33–47. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512780903172049

Wilson, T. K. (2020). Killing Strangers: How Political Violence Became Modern. Oxford University Press.