Members of the public, and some media organisations, will not stop speculating, playing detective or 'rubber necking' at horror, despite what well-meaning social media citizens may desire.įor the media it's all about clicks, and unfortunately horror drives clicks. While some large media platforms, like Facebook and Twitter, are under increasing pressure to clean up their acts in terms of publishing hate crime material, it is nigh on impossible to stop the material popping up in multiple places elsewhere. Instant global access to news can also pose problems to subsequent trials of perpetrators, as was shown in the recent case involving Cardinal George Pell. Conspiracies fester when people believe they are not being told the truth. Those who believe in media freedom and the public's right to know are likely to complain if information and pictures are not available in full view on the internet. Norwegian extremist Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 69 people on the island of Utoya in 2011, took a similar approach to justifying his acts.īefore his killing spree, Breivik wrote a 1,518 page manifesto called 2083: A European Declaration of Independence. There is also the real fear that publishing such material could lead to copycat crimes.Īlong with the photographs and 17 minutes of film, the alleged perpetrator has penned a 73-page manifesto, in which he describes himself as 'just a regular white man'. In some past incidences of terrorism and hate crime, pictures of the wrong people have been published around the world on social and in mainstream media.Īfter the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013, the wrong man was fingered as a culprit by a crowd-sourced detective hunt on various social media sites.

Sharing this material can be highly problematic. Opinion: Why you should think twice about watching the Christchurch shooting live stream.Reporting a massacre: Why the ABC didn't share the shooter's 'manifesto'.'Dad didn't make it': New Zealanders mourn loved ones killed in shootings.Analysis: We're in a war in which the casualties are not strangers - they're our neighbours.Opinion: The dark reality is right-wing extremists don't stand out in our toxic political environment.New Zealand shooter rushed by worshipper Abdul Aziz at Linwood mosque.

Christchurch mosque shooter used same radicalisation tactics as Islamic State, expert says.PM's office received shooter's manifesto minutes before attack.'Kia kaha Christchurch': The beautiful tributes for Christchurch mosque attack victims.

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The risks of sharing information about terrorism More on this story:

Video of christchurch shooting live