PSY-Psychology of Terrorism class

The Media on Terrorism and Counterterrorism

PSY 344: PSYCHOLOGY OF TERRORISM

Terrorism and the Media

• Terrorists seek change through the use of fear and intimidation

• Terrorists always ‘play’ to an audience

• Specific terrorist tactics are often employed to maximize the impact of their activities

Terrorism is a Type of Psychological Warfare

• Conventional warfare makes extensive use of psychological ‘warfare’ to amplify its impact

• Terrorism relies almost exclusively on psychological ‘warfare’ for its intended impact

It’s all in the perception of danger

The Media Can Be an Unwitting Ally to Terrorism

• Terrorism is intended to instill terror in a larger target audience

• Terrorism can also be intended to recruit more supporters

• The media are critically important to achieving both of these goals

Role of the Media in Terrorism

• Victims of the terrorists’ physical attack provide the ‘signal’

• Media amplify and disseminate the ‘signal’ or message

• Target audience responds with terror, providing the impetus for capitulating to the terrorists’ demands for change

The Media Magnification

Limited

Physical Attack Media

World-Wide Publicity

The Media Magnification

• Perception of Threat

– 9/11 attack killed less than 3,500 people

– Flu kills around 36,000 annually

• Are you afraid of the flu?

Role of the Media in Terrorism

Terrorist groups sometimes attempt to gain popular support for their agenda (e.g., publicize their cause), not just impart terror in the ‘suppressive’ population or regime

The tactics necessary for this objective are somewhat different than the other tactics commonly used by terrorist organizations

Role of the Media in Terrorism for Gaining Support

• Identify the social, political, economic, or religious injustice

• Identify the responsible target

• Demonstrate the ability to strike and do harm to the target

• Demonstrate a commitment and the resolve to continue the fight until the goal is achieved

A Terrorist Recruiter

Emerge with the perception of being unrelenting freedom fighters for a just and noble cause supported by the oppressed masses rising-up against a cruel and brutal regime

Terrorism Support Base

Actual

terrorists

Active supporters

Passive supporters

Sympathizers

Role of the Media in Terrorism

• The media are (mostly unwilling) allies of the terrorists

– media want the ‘story’

– terrorists want their ‘message’ spread

• Media have a lot of control over the impact of terrorist activity

Role of the Media in Terrorism

• Terrorist strive to amplify the impact of their actions

• Media play an important role

– perspective of media coverage including descriptive language

– prevalence of media coverage

• number of media sources

• duration of coverage

• detail of coverage

Importance of Words

• Selection of specific words has an important impact on the perception of events

– cognitive

– emotional

• Language can either favorably or unfavorably portray the same event

What’s in a Word?

• Consider the following words

– freedom fighter

– insurgent

– terrorist

(positive connotation)

(neutral connotation)

(negative connotation)

Words to Soften the Impact

• near miss

• casualties

• collateral damage

• detainee

• near crash

• killed or seriously injured

• civilians killed or injured (civilian casualties)

• prisoner

Similar Denotations— Different Conations

• Positive – freedom fighter

– liberator

– peacekeeper

• More Neutral – insurgent

– kill

• Descriptive Label – antiabortion

– reproductive choice

• Negative – terrorist

– invader

– occupier

• Less Neutral – rebel

– murder

• Propaganda Label – ProLife

– ProChoice

Subtle but Important

• Liberator—good

• Invader—bad

• Foreign Invader—worse

“foreign” invader has a special connotation in the Middle East; it unites otherwise belligerent Arabic factions to fight the “common enemy” and may form the basis for a Jihad and martyrdom

Other Choices in Word Selection

–Crusader

–Infidel

–Jihad Anti-Western Rhetoric

These terms are commonly used in the Arabic media and the last term is sometimes used worldwide.The terms have different implications for Arabic and Western cultures.

Different Portrayals of the Same Event

Terrorists detonated an improvised explosive device near the

hospital of the peacekeeping forces. There were numerous U.S.

military and Iraqi casualties from the explosion. The insurgents

continue their indiscriminant attack of U.S. facilities without

regard for strategic value. (American media version)

Freedom fighters detonated a bomb near the base of the

crusaders. The tremendous blast killed several of the foreign

occupiers and severely injured many more of their

collaborators. The resistance fighters continue to carry the

Jihad to the camps of the foreign invaders leaving the infidels

no safe haven. (Arabic media version)

Poor Choice?

In Arabic nations, the colors of flags have widely recognized meanings.

Green, white and black denote Islam -- harkening back to the battle banners of the

medieval Islamic dynasties of the Fatimids, Ummayads and Abbasids. Green is

said to have been the prophet Muhammad's favorite color; the Saudi, Libyan,

Algerian and Mauritanean flags are completely or largely green.

The only Arab League members to have any blue in their flag are the African

nations of Djibouti and Somalia.

US-picked Iraqi leaders declare a new flag

that breaks with Hussein -- and the rest of

Arab world. By Lee Keath, Associated Press | April 26, 2004 [excerpts]

How to Lose the Propaganda War

• Cultural insensitivity often aids the terrorists – Re-design of the Iraqi flag using the color of the Israeli flag (blue)

feeds the perception of Zionist conquest

– President Bush’s use of the term “crusade” inflamed the Moslem world

• Western world--noble, righteous cause

• Islamic world--invasion by infidels

– Osama bin Laden had already referred to the “Zionists/Crusaders in his 1998 fatwa and elsewhere

U.S. PsyOps and Intell Language

• “Surrender or die” in Afghanistan

• Air strike called in by Afghan warlord on wedding party

• “Crusade” to liberate Iraq

• “He’s a terrorist!” accusation by other Iraqi prisoners

• “We are here to kill you. Come out and fight” (Falluja offensive)?

More Choice Terms

• Detention center vs. prison

• Enemy combatant vs. POW (also has legal distinction)

• Intensive interrogation vs. torture

• Execution vs. murder

The Language “Battleground”

• Terrorism is ‘fought’ in the psychological realm

—perception is everything

• Word choice and narrative have an important influence on the psychological impact

• Don’t concede the language ‘war’

—fight on all fronts

Media Wars & Bias in Media

• Left-wing, right-wing slant

– Some “news” presentations are obviously biased, pandering to an existing audience

– Other “news” presentations may appear neural but attempt to persuade by subtle propaganda

– “Fair and balanced” or fairly balancing? (the Fox spins too)

Implicit Support of the Terrorist Organization

• Graphic portrayal of the injustice

• Personification of the terrorists’ target as evil and inhumane

• Presentation of the terrorists as – representing the suppressed

– a rational, goal-directed organization

– minimizing harm to innocent people

– (and on the side of God, if possible)

Information Sources

• News Media

• Government Sources

• Internet

• First-hand accounts

• Personal experience

News Sources

• Broadcast Media

– television

– radio

– Internet

• Printed Media

– newspapers

– magazines

American-Based Television Networks

• Broadcast

– ABC

– CBS

– Fox

– NBC

– PBS

• Cable

– CNN/CNN Headline News

– CSPAN

– Fox News

– MSNBC/CNBC

Non-American Satellite Networks

• English Language

– British • BBC/BBC World

• Granada

• Sky News

– Canadian (regional broadcast/cable) • CBC

• CTV

• Arabic Language

– Qatar • Al Jazeera

– United Arab Emirates • Al Arabiya

Newspapers

• American (National Distribution)

– Christian Science Monitor

– LA Times

– New York Times

– U.S.A. Today

– Wall Street Journal

– Washington Post

• Non-American (English Language)

– International Herald Tribune

– The Times (London)

• Arabic (with English versions online)

– Cairo

– Lebanon

News Wire Services

• Associated Press (AP)

• Reuters

Government Information Sources

• White House, Pentagon & related press offices

• Senate & House committees

• Government web sites

• Government reports

• Individual government officials

Internet Information Sources

• Media linked (e.g., ABC, BBC, CBS, CNN)

• Government

– United States (e.g., FBI, State Department)

– Foreign (e.g., British Home Office, MI-5)

• Non-government

– organizations (FAS, Rand Corporation)

– companies (e.g., Black Hawk Security)

– individuals (www.PsychologyofTerrorism.com)

Information Bias

• All information sources direct their presentations to an intended audience

– Some risk losing their intended audiences if they present inaccurate information

– Others pander to the bias of their intended audience and risk losing their audience if they present unbiased reports

• Some media ‘sell’ sensationalism

• All media want the ‘big story’

Evaluating Sources of Information

• Use a variety of information sources

• Note how the same information is presented differently by different sources

• Recognize that even biased information sources have some ‘grain of truth’ in their reporting

Evaluating Sources of Information,

• Recognize the motivation of the reporting agency and examine its possible bias

– nobody does it for “free”

• mass media may be ‘selling newspapers’ or pushing their own social-political agenda

• government and other sources may be amplifying, blunting, or filtering the information for propaganda purposes

Analyzing Information

• Use common sense and logic

• Remember that bias is present both in the information source AND in the recipient of the information

– avoid prejudice and stereotypes

– try to negate psychological processes that distort information processing

– seek feedback for reality testing

Media Censorship of ‘Sensitive’ Stories

• Media self-censorship

– verifying story & factual information

– considering impact of story

• softening impact

• omitting story

• Government censorship

– limiting media access

– ‘clearing’ news stories

Open Source Information

• During World War II, German spies often used public sources for acquiring intelligence

• During the Cold War, Soviet spies often used public sources for acquiring intelligence; the same information was classified in the Soviet Union

Terrorist Setup?

• One surrendering resistance fighter innocently killed is worth scores of enemy dead

• One ‘innocent’ woman and child killed at a roadside checkpoint ‘buys’ hundreds of new terrorist supporters

The Media as the Terrorists’ Ally

• Terrorism is all about perception

– perception of the ‘just cause’ the terrorists are fighting for

– perception that the “ends justify the means” (and there is no alternative)

– perception of popular support for the terrorists’ ‘cause’

– perception of the severity of the terrorist threat

The Media “Battleground”

• Media have a profound influence on the perception of events

– much of the ‘war’ is fought in the media

• propaganda is a primary weapon

• everybody spins the story

– a successful “war on terrorism” requires controlling the spin and winning the propaganda ‘war’