by Federico Guerrini, 14.11.2015
In the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attack last
January, the French government advocated new
legislation to stop the use of social networks as
hate-speech vehicles by ISIL supporters, who
were also using those platforms to coordinate
their terrorist acts.
Harlem Desir, State Secretary for European
Affairs, proposed an international legal
framework that would make Facebook and
Twitter share responsibility when used to spread
messages promoting violence.
But the attacks which ravaged the French capital
yesterday showed how social media can also play
a much more positive role.
Facebook activated its Safety Check tool,
introduced in October 2014 to help people in
areas afected by a disaster let their Facebook
friends know they are safe. Twitter was also
helpful: residents used the hashtag
#porteouverte to offer shelter to people stranded
in the city.
Another important hashtag, #rechercheParis, is
being used to search for missing loved ones last
seen near attack sites.
#ParisAttacks and #FranceUnderAttack are
spreading information and updates about the
attacks, while #PrayForParis gathers messages of
solidarity and support for the victims and their
fellow citizens.
But there’s also a darker side to social media:
when a disaster strikes, it can easily become a
source of disinformation. As BBC journalist Dave
Lee notes, it’s difficult, in the midst of confusion,
to distinguish false rumors from news. When a
refugee camp in Calais was set on fire, for
example, someone tweeted it was done in
revenge, while it most likely was just due to an
electrical fire.
White House candidate Donald Trump was also a
“victim” of this witch-hunt: although he tweeted
a a message of condolence, people shared
instead, as if it were new, a tweet he made some
months ago where he made a correlation
between the Charlie Hebdo attacks and the fact
the the possession of a gun in France wasn’t so
widespread as in the U.S. Needless to says, he
was accused of speculating on the murders.
Even worse, according to some reports, ISIL (or
ISIS) supporters celebrated the attacks on
Twitter, under an hashtag in Arabic which,
translated to English, reads as “#ParisInFlames,”
or “#ParisBurns.” While this appears to be true
(Vice News gathered a couple of these infamous
tweets), it’s difficult to estimate the extent of this
“celebration.”
According to independent analyst Rita Katz, who
in her Insite Blog tracks ISIL propaganda on
social media, the latest attacks, “were part of a
purposefully timed campaign to create hatred
against France amongst jihadis.”
She also pointed to how #ParisInFlame was used
– among others – by supporters of the Caliphate.
However the #ParisInFlame hashtag seems to
have been used also by neutral, non-partisan
Twitter users, simply to describe what was happening in Paris, and doubts have been cast on
Katz’s methodology before, so caution is advised
before making any claim that could be used to
increase anger and sorrow even further.
If there’s one thing that the admittedly
brief history of social media has taught us so far,
it’s that these powerful tools are a double-edged
sword: they can be used to show support and
help coordinate rescue efforts, or they can also be
tools for disinformation and hate speech.
After the new attacks, it is possible that the
French government will call for greater and more
effective surveillance powers and the recent
project of harsher legislation for social
media might gain new strength.
It would be a legitimate and understandable
reaction: the risk, though, is to to get rid of the
good sides of social networks, along with the bad.
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