By Hadiqa Tariq
The
modernization in Information Technology has revolutionized communication and
turned the world into a global village. With the enhanced means of
communication, social media, a mode of communication, has emerged as a single
means of interaction with the whole world at once. Due to the easy availability
of social media, people of every age having diverse beliefs including
terrorists use social media alike. Moreover, it has shattered the premise of
print and electronic media and prevailed in the world of communication, thus it
offers a wide audience. A well-crafted message posted by any person has the
potential to make people think alike and subsequently formulate a general
perception about any said issue. The developing countries in the global south
are couping up with literacy, social sector, and human resource development
making people vulnerable to hostile propaganda and extremist ideas which pose
an imminent threat to the peace process in that areas. It is argued that a
comprehensive approach is needed to educate the masses about the use of media
enabling them not to be exposed to hostile elements and eventually contributing
towards perpetual peace in their respective regions.
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It
would be quite an interesting coincidence to highlight the rise in global
terrorism and simultaneous expansion in the use of social media in the post
9/11 era. This did not remain mere coincident rather it had been exploited as a
part of a strategy by major powers in hunting terrorists in Iraq and
Afghanistan. At the same time, terrorist groups like Al-Qaida, being adaptive
to change, resorted to the use of social media to convey their violent message
across the world. Moreover, the same happenings can be seen in the successful
genocidal violence of Kashmiri Muslims by Indians, Rohingya Muslims by Burmese,
Palestinian Muslims by Israel, and Uighur Muslims by China. This ethnic
cleansing and genocide are turning into a complicated situation with unchecking
the silence of the United Nations.
According
to Ross, terrorism has become a value-laden term, and phrases such as “one man’s
terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter” are often used to clarify
situations or to “muddy” them. In 2014, in the US there were more than 6000
anti-Muslim hate crimes occurred. Terrorism is not a new phenomenon. Nor is it
simply a religious or political manifestation, but a power struggle, and in
this struggle for power between competing entities or ideologies, the word
terrorism lacks precision and objectivity.
Terrorist events offer optimal conditions for the media to witness history as it happens, to represent the social order to influence the course of events and to try bringing matters to a peaceful resolution. Invoking their priestly role, the media do everything in their power to create a sense of occasion. Schedules are changed, regular programs are canceled, newsbreaks are added and special logos are used. The atmosphere created in the media and subsequently transmitted to the audience is that of a big story and an actual historical event.
Media
events influence social systems and social norms. The main objective of
terrorism is that the world forgets everything and helps them in making
history. If anyone has the information and access to media, he will have an
upper hand against an enemy at every front. So it can be concluded that the use
of media is all about human beings. It is an operational and strategic
instrument of warfare. In a modern democratic era, it is not possible to
capture the territorial boundaries of states so hybrid warfare has opened a new
front in the war which is not being fought in Pakistan but all over the world.
This is how media constructs reality concerning terrorism.
