Sri Lanka Easter Bombing, 2019
Media coverage and attention are given to terrorism, and the number of attacks is closely connected. The attention given by media outlets and the details shared to the public has dire consequences for the general public. This paper compares the details of terrorist coverage by various media houses and the impacts of giving media attention to terrorism. The paper also proposes ways to approach media coverage of terrorist activities. The paper uses the terrorist attack launched in Colombo City, Sri Lanka, as a case study.
On Easter Sunday, 21 April 2019, three churches and three luxury hotels in Colombo’s city were targeted by a series of coordinated Islamic terrorist suicide bombing. A total of 267 people were killed during the attack, at least 45 foreigners included. Three police officers and eight suicide bombers also died in the attack, and at least 500 people sustained injuries.
According to the government analyst’s department, eight explosions occurred across the country on 21 April; three churches hotels were attacked. The churches are St. Anthony’s church in Kotahena, Zion Church in Batticaloa, Katuwapitiya Church in Katana. The hotels were Shangri-La, Cinnamon Grand, and Kingsbury hotel, all in Colombo. A reception hall near the Zoological Garden in Dehiwala and AtMaha Wila Gardens housing scheme in Dematagoda, (Attacks carried out by suicide bombers, Govt. Analyst confirms (2019). The police launched investigations into the explosion, and 24 suspects connected with the tragic series of events were arrested.
Different media houses reported the tragic incident, some giving varied details. According to The Sun, the incident occurred at around 8:45 am, and six blasts happened within a close range of time (Tahir, T., & Shakhnazarova, N. (2019). The government source, however, said there were eight explosions. The depth of the details given by each media also varied. The Sun said that one of the bombers studied in the United Kingdom; however, the government did not disclose much information about the bombers. It just gave the number of terrorists who were involved. The police said that nine of the member involved are linked to two local Islamist outfits called the National Thawheedh (NTJ) and Jamathei Millathu Ibrahim.
The variation in details is also evident in BBC news. According to BBC News, the explosion killed at least 253 people and injured some 500 others. The number of foreigners who died was 38. The government had to revise its tally, blaming errors in calculation. According to BBC news, the government cited the cause of the bombing was due to a major intelligence lapse. The Indian intelligence had warned of planned attacks on the city, but the government was reluctant to take action (Sri Lanka attacks: What we know about the Easter bombings. (, 2019). According to Al Jazeera, the details are not so specific. It does not give finer detail; it reported that a series of eight coordinated attacks were launched to attack churches and hotels, killing more than 200 people and at least 450 injured. The media outlet also describes the impacts of the attack on the victims, relatives, and survivors (Qazi, S. (2019).
The way different media houses report terrorist attacks to create a different perception of terrorism. The variation in details also causes confusion and makes people get different understandings. The difference between government sources and those given by other media outlets makes people question the government. This is because, in most cases, the government give fewer details and hide other sensitive information. On the other hand, media houses compete to give the most convincing news to market their channels. The race acts to the advantage of the terrorist groups by making them famous.
The amount of media coverage given to the terrorist organization is overwhelming and borders sensationalism. Media coverage on terrorism can cause dire consequences. The terrorist gets more attention and concern from the public; this motivates them to attack even more. A research conducted by Micheal Jetter, Ph.D. of the University of Western Australia reveal that media coverage encourages terrorist to launch more attacks, make the group famous, foster radicalization, therefore facilitating recruitment of new members. Journalists understand that covering certain events can result in undesirable impacts. Covering suicidal events in detail can encourage copycats; for this reason, different media houses choose their words carefully and report minimal suicide cases and with limited details (Jetter M, (2018).
These standards should be maintained when dealing with terrorism coverage. When events occur and have the smell of terrorism, front pages and networks interrupt their Breaking News programs and are repeated for hours and days. This behavior caters to the interest of terrorist groups and spreading their messages, generates fear in the marked group, and recruiting followers. Most terrorists launch attacks as a warning rather than targeting the immediate victims themselves. Coverage of such events will facilitate the objects of the terrorist, thus creating more serious consequences (Jetter M, (2017).
The research also found that the more the coverage, the more the attacks launched, and the less attention is given, a surge in terror activities is witnessed. The more attention devoted to terrorism increases radicalization. After a terrorist attack, google records increase searches on Al –Qaeda, Jihad, and inspire, when Al-Qaeda is all over the media (Jetter M, (2014).
The research conducted over the years shows that giving attention to terrorist attacks will increase their occurrences; it is there important to reduce terrorist coverage. The information shared with the public should be obtained from a government source. This is because the government would have set standards of details to be shared in public. Managing information given to the public will serve the interest and be beneficial to the public. It has been noted that reducing attention given to terrorists demoralizes them, thus reducing their attacks. The media houses should also reduce the time given to news concerning terrorism; they can briefly give the report without more details.
Reference
Attacks carried out by suicide bombers, Govt. Analyst confirms. (, 2019). Date Accessed 20 November 2020, from http://www.adaderana.lk/news/54531/attacks-carried-out-by-suicide-bombers-govt-analyst-confirms
Tahir, T., & Shakhnazarova, N. (2019). Sri Lanka bombings – what happened on Easter Sunday in 2019?. Date Accessed 20 November 2020, from https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/8907922/sri-lanka-bombings-easter-sunday-2019/
Qazi, S. (2019). Sri Lanka bombing: ‘No one can dry our tears today.’ Date Accessed 20 November 2020, from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/04/21/sri-lanka-bombing-no-one-can-dry-our-tears-today/.
Sri Lanka attacks: What we know about the Easter bombings. (, 2019). Retrieved 20 November 2020, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48010697
Jetter, M. (2018). Mediated terrorism: Us news and al-Qaeda attacks.
Jetter, M. (2017). The effect of media attention on terrorism. Journal of Public Economics, 153, 32-48.
Jetter, M. (2014). Terrorism and the Media.