Sandy & Social Media

As the East Coast tries to recover from the hurricane Sandy and presidential elections are only a day away, news channels are flooded with discussions, images, videos about those topics. But so is the internet and social media. With emergence of technological tools, social media and blogging, the role of citizen journalist has increased dramatically.

But, as news showed this passed week (and still showing today), among those images of destruction, a number of fakes also went viral. Even though I was aware that hoaxes appear online regularly, I also noted how journalists now try to pinpoint and debunk those frauds. Of course, despite how skeptical we might view mainstream media or reports by amateurs, it is ultimately up to us, the audience, to decide between what's real and fake.

According to Nielsen, there are more than 233 million internet users. When a big story happens, such as hurricane Sandy, regular citizens now employ tools to inform one another. We saw the impact social media can create with the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street movements. In addition, mainstream media also benefits from citizen journalists as they post their stories and images. In fact, they encourage civilians to post their photos, videos to news sites.

Article "How Hurricane Sandy and Twitter made the world scream fire in a crowded Internet" describes not only positive impact that social media can create, but also how it can create "dangers of a screaming fire."The phrase that should come to mind in all of this is “shouting fire in a crowded theater.” This metaphor, according to article, was coined during the Schenck v. United States case of 1919. The phrase, in full, reads:“The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man falsely shouting fire in a theater and causing a panic.” There are at least few instance in history, when falsely spread information caused panic and even death.

So why the history lesson? Because it’s become all-too relevant in the wake of Hurricane Sandy and @ComfortablySmug’s false allegations. The simple act of tweeting out unsubstantiated information resulted in the likes of established, respected news sources like CNN and The Weather Channel picking up and further spreading the news — and thus, further spreading the panic.

It is upsetting that there are people posting hoaxes during emergency situations without thinking about the consequences it may create to others. As article notes, "if you flip through comments on some of the more terrifying fake photos (which The Atlantic has a great round up of), you’ll read concerned, and even plain scared comments." As we use more tools to inform one another, it is necessary to be more critical and aware of the veritable information that reaches us, so we would avoid the panic of "screaming fire."

Image source: digitaltrends.com