ABSTRACT

This article explores how digital communications platforms are used in the aftermath of terrorist attacks to amplify or constrain the wider social impacts and consequences of politically motivated violence. Informed by empirical data collected by monitoring social media platforms following four terrorist attacks in the UK in 2017, the analysis focusses on the role of ‘soft facts’ (rumours/conspiracy theories/fake news/propaganda) in influencing public understandings and definitions of the situation. Specifically, it identifies three digital influence engineering techniques – spoofing, truthing and social proofing – that are associated with the communication of misinformation and disinformation. After configuring these concepts, the authors consider their implications for policy and practice development, concluding that, to date, possibilities for evidence-informed post-event preventative interventions have been relatively neglected in the formulation of counter-terrorism strategies. They recommend more attention be paid to how strategic communications interventions can counteract the effects of misinformation and disinformation, and thus mitigate the wider public harms induced by terror events.

摘要

本文探讨了在恐怖袭击发生后如何使用数字通信平台来放大或限制政治动机的暴力行为对社会的广泛影响和后果。在2017年英国四次恐怖袭击之后，通过监测社交媒体平台收集的经验数据得知，该分析着重于``软事实''（谣言/阴谋论/虚假新闻/宣传）在影响公众的理解和定义方面的作用。情况。具体来说，它确定了三种数字影响力工程技术–欺骗，真实和社会证明–与错误信息和虚假信息的传播相关联。在配置了这些概念之后，作者考虑了其对政策和实践开发的影响，并得出结论，迄今为止，在制定反恐战略时，相对忽视了事后采取预防措施的依据。他们建议应更加注意战略性交流干预措施可如何抵消错误信息和虚假信息的影响，从而减轻恐怖事件引起的更广泛的公共伤害。