Essay Example on Terrorism & Mass Media: A Dangerous Relationship

Lately, terrorists have employed sophisticated ways of advancing their activities. The use of media and most specifically, the mass media has been used by terror groups to destabilize world peace and security. In our presentation, we shall discuss the relationship existing between the terrorists and mass media.

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Over the years, mass media has evolved from simple analog technology to a complex digital transformation. The invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in the 15th century (publisher], 2019) revolutionized how information was kept and shared. It improved efficiency and, gave birth to daily newspapers that transformed the sharing of information effectiveness. The print media then paved the way for the broadcast media made up of the radio and the television. The broadcast communication promoted the faster sharing of news to many people in the same period. The broadcast media then opened the way for the social media that has taken over the communication industry with a bung. The social media come in various forms, which include; YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, among other forms.

In the past, it was hard for terrorists to accomplish their terror activities. Recently, their work has been successful because of the use of media. With the arrival of the mass media, the terrorists have been able to achieve a lot. They have utilized all forms of media to their advantage. For instance, they have used social media in sharing information to their right audiences. Again, they have utilized the media in recruiting and training of their members ("Social Media and Terrorism: Threats and Challenges to the Modern Era - Md Sazzad Hossain, 2015", 2019) across different parts of the world. Moreover, their activities have been made possible by social media because they can easily reach out to their donors, supporters, and sympathizers as the use of social media are cheap and effective. Through the media, they have succeeded in spreading false information, propaganda, and their ideologies all over the world.

There exists a symbiotic relationship between the media and the terrorists. Therefore, the link is mutual and beneficial to both parties. How then does the media benefit from terrorism activities? The media reporting terrorists' activities receive attention and recognition from a large section of the population and therefore gains legitimacy in the communication industry ("Terrorism and the Media: A Dangerous Symbiosis", 2019). The media covers the information in a way that triggers eagerness on terrorists' activities among its audiences. It boosts their sales and their advertisements through the big audiences it reaches.

The government is interested in how the media covers terrorists' activities because the media is strategically positioned and can either minimize or magnify the effects and impacts of the information shared by the terrorists. Therefore, the government is coming in to reduce the extremes caused by media in their symbiotic relationship with the terrorists (2019). The government is concerned about the publicity the media gives to the terrorist organizations and has come in to neutralize the cordial relationship between the terrorists and the media.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the relationship between terrorists and the media cannot be easily cut. However, improving the government-media relationship could play a significant role in neutralizing terrorist activities. Through government intervention assistance, the media can only report information that reduces their influence.

Works cited

Social Media and Terrorism: Threats and Challenges to the Modern Era - Md Sazzad Hossain, 2015. (2019). Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0971523117753280?journalCode=sasa

Terrorism and the Media: A Dangerous Symbiosis. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.e-ir.info/2012/07/22/terrorism-and-the-media-a-dangerous-symbiosis/