Mbostic's List: Assignment 3.6

• "We could see very clearly the negative impacts of misinformation in this event," said Kate Starbird, a UW assistant professor in the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering. "Every crisis event is very different in so many ways, but I imagine some of the dynamics we're seeing around misinformation and organization of information apply to many different contexts. A crisis like this allows us a chance to see it all happen very quickly, with heightened emotions."

• After last week's bombings at the Boston Marathon, authorities had to sift through a mountain of footage from government surveillance cameras, private security cameras and imagery shot by bystanders on smartphones. It took the FBI only three days to release blurry shots of the two suspects, taken by a department store's cameras.

• Bronson analyzed media reports in The Boston Globe and other outlets for the defense team and found that “the Globe’s coverage was marked by an overload of inflammatory themes, words, phrases, and passages,” the lawyers wrote.

   

  The professor added in his report that “terror,” “terrorist,” and related terms were used to characterize Tsarnaev more than 1,400 times in the Globe. The specific word “terrorist” was used more than 620 times, Bronson wrote, though “often the word was not used to characterize Mr. Tsarnaev, but as part of phrases like terrorist attack.”

• Beneath the surface though, a dark tinge emerges. A recent survey by the Pew Research Center showed that Muslims are the least liked religious group in America, with 60 percent of respondents saying they disliked them. Surprisingly, this finding was never analyzed in a meaningful way. One could argue though that this was the least surprising finding of the survey given the way Muslims are portrayed in the media and due to the utter absence of any positive stories drawing attention to them. Encouragingly, the survey showed that younger people and those who had come into contact with Muslims tended to have more positive feelings towards Muslims.
• The suspected actions of the Tsarnaev brothers have done more to set back Massachusetts’ Muslims than any other recent event. Yet, just like the rest of the community, Muslims too have got back on their feet and are moving forward. The greatest challenge Muslims face is framing a conversation of Islam in America that is not dominated by extremists on either side. Community engagement is perhaps the most important deterrent to preventing a tragedy such as the Marathon bombing in the future. Initiative needs to be present both among Muslims and others to improve how we communicate with each other and ensure there is never any misunderstanding.

• The rush to report a piece of information first can lead to regrettable errors. Despite claims to have cross-checked information, even reputable news organizations can get important facts wrong in the scramble to be first out the gate with news. The initial reports about who the police were looking for turned out to be wrong. Thursday night's revelation that the two suspects were actually young refugees from Chechnya showed just how wrong the initial speculation can be.
• On the contrary, the Boston police and the FBI deserve tremendous praise for being restrained in their public statements, cautious about what they say in press conferences, and quick in identifying and locating the two alleged bombers. So relying on what officials say, rather than fast-breaking media segments, is a good way to stay ahead in the information game.
• The third lesson to keep in mind is context. Experts on domestic terrorism like J.M. Berger have been analyzing the bombing and the quality of information about it in excruciating, impressive detail. Other experts, such as Sarah Kendzior - a PhD anthropologist with deep expertise in the former Soviet Union - have been expressing skepticism and urging caution as new details about the two young men emerge. When analysts write that two people who immigrated to the United States as children suggest that there is a connection to Chechnya's conflict with Russia, they are being irresponsible.

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