Barcelona, Charlottesville: are Islamic State and white nationalists getting a boost as news networks chase ratings?
Brooke Richter calls on channels covering the violence in graphic detail to review their role, as unlimited airtime is giving terrorists and bigots a greater reach and voice than they warrant in a civilised society
As graphic images of yet another terror attack – this time in Barcelona – flash across the television screen, I’m compelled to ask: could the rise in terrorist organisations and plots be linked to the 24-hour news cycle?
Each time a van mows down pedestrians, or white supremacists march down the street, cable news channels inundate the public with all the lurid details, replaying graphic video imagery that often includes the very slogans these organisations are bent on voicing.
When cable news repeatedly shows footage of white nationalists descending on Charlottesville, are they not giving these bigots exactly what they want – free advertising and mass dissemination of their ugly message? Are they not giving Islamic State, al-Qaeda or other militant groups a far greater voice and suggestion of relevance than they warrant in a civilised society?
The way these events are covered today effectively glorifies the actions and belief systems of disturbed individuals, giving the leaders of these organisations exactly what they want – airtime.
