In the days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers in New York, hand-made posters could be seen pinned to walls and lamp posts throughout the city begging passers-by for information on missing people. Today we once again see such messages – but now they are on social media.
Facebook has made available its safety check feature in Manchester, and Twitter has been used by locals to offer shelter to those caught up in the bombing using the hashtag #RoomforManchester. The tweets of pop stars condemning the bombing have become part of the rolling news cycle. These have become our new coping mechanisms.
In the aftermath of such atrocities we immediately turn to social media – to both seek help and offer support. The authorities use social media as a way to quickly communicate with those caught up in the attack and those wishing to help. Distraught parents plead for information about their children and, very soon, communities of mourning will appear online to offer a space for grieving for those who have lost loved ones.
For the majority of us too far away to offer any concrete aid, retweeting requests for information or, at the most basic, posting a meme supporting Manchester, feels like the right thing to do. In this way social media offers at least the illusion of doing something positive when you are feeling impotent and upset.
However, there are no gatekeepers on social media, no editors to check the accuracy of the stories and images that are shared. Rumours and theories swirl unchecked, adding to the chaos and a feeling that the world has tipped upside down.
It is also through social media that the impact of terrorist attacks is felt all over the world. The term ‘celebrity terrorism’ is used by academics to describe attacks that achieve large audiences of witnesses, far greater than those actually physically caught up. Celebrity terrorists aim to produce terrifying and powerful images that impact throughout the world. Social media and rolling news means that this is now far more easily achieved.
Social media is about sharing – information, friendships, photographs, jokes. Today this means sharing grief and anger.
