#jesuisparis

[sebastianvela]

Esplanade du Trocadéro. Paris, France. #paris #parisphoto #parisnoiretblanc #jesuisparis #parisfrance (en Paris, France) https://www.instagram.com/p/-Liy3VC77l/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[cafedechangmin]

miss them 🤍 - Posted @withregram • @fyeahjcw 🇫🇷 #JeSuisParis #PrayForParis #JiChangWook @jichangwook #ParkMinYoung @rachel_mypark #박민영 #Healer #ChangminCouple #Changminers #Edit 🇫🇷 https://www.instagram.com/p/CCggMkPJuJQ/?igshid=ccu2qz10a6tn

[celine-g-f]

#BlackLivesMatter #IceBucketChallenge #JeSuisParis #BringBackOurGirls #LoveWins #Oscars #TheDress #DeleteUber #FF #Tbt #jordan #TikTok #Tramp #CinayetSuesue #COVID19maysays #Malaysia https://www.instagram.com/p/CAzY9bvjjJG/?igshid=1kuyqt01qoyi3

[numelog]

Même loin de la France, tu n'en es jamais très loin, les larmes aux yeux et le cœur serré 😢 #quebec #notredame #notredamedeparis #jesuisparis (à Hôtel Royal William) https://www.instagram.com/p/BwUIY77Ja8K/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=ean3wj6semjr

[casalatinabordeaux]

#jesuisnotredame #jesuisnotredamedeparis #jesuisparis #jesuistriste #jesuispompier #feu #incendie #jesuschrist #jesus #patrimoine (à France) https://www.instagram.com/p/BwSwYfbA1D_/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=16meu6s2uou3f

[sussurrosdamente-blog]

I really can’t believe that the news are real... today it’s a very sad day! I went to #Paris last year and be at #notredame was an AMAZING moment. Today it’s a sad day... #jesuisparis https://www.instagram.com/p/BwSq2CrHiX5/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=gx51wiahayys

[inthedigitalspace-blog]

Social media in times of attacks: Providing help and spreading mass panic at the same time

The terror attack in Paris on 13 November 2015 was probably the biggest and most crucial terror attack in France in the last few years. Social media took a special role in this attack shaped by individuals using different social networks during the attacks.

The use of social media during the Paris attacks was diverse. Different social media platforms served different necessities. Social media was the place where many first found out about the terror attack in Paris. People in Paris used Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to report shootings and to warn others. Users on Twitter shared videos and photos of the happenings in Paris. This footage was also used later by TV and online media. People warned not to go outside and even gave descriptions of the attackers (Mercier 2015; BBC Trending 2015). Twitter provided a whole timeline of the attack at that night.

On Facebook, the Safety Check tool was activated. With this tool users in Paris could mark themselves as safe in order to let family and friends know. This tool was only used for natural disasters before. The Paris attacks were the first time that it was activated for a terror attack (Goel & Ember 2015).

Twitter was also widely used in the attacks. Within 10 hours, there were one million tweets with the hashtag #PorteOuverte (open door). People in Paris offered their homes as a shelter for those who needed it. People who were looking for their family and friends used #RechercheParis. Other users used this hashtag when somebody missing was found alive (Goel & Ember 2015).

Besides people looking for help, shelter or a loved one, Twitter was also used as platform to express the concern about the attacks. People from all over the world, including celebrities, expressed their prayers and condolences on Twitter. The hashtags #JeSuisParis and #PrayforParis went viral within only a few hours. A lot of people also used a profile picture frame of the French flag on Facebook overlaying their profile picture (Goel & Ember 2015; Mercier 2015). However, those tweets were not helpful and did not change anything. It might raise awareness and spread the news of the attacks but in the end it does not help during this time of crisis.

However, all the information that is published on social media during crisis also has it´s downsides. I remember different attacks where a lot of people complained that the TV was still not giving out more information, but you can find so much more on Twitter. There is a good reason for that. The TV channels will first check the information they received in order to make sure that it´s true. On social media people just post whatever they hear or think no matter if they know if it´s true or not. They just want to post to be part of it.

22 July 2016, Munich Germany

One example for this was a shooting that happened in July 2016 in my hometown Munich in Germany. A 18-year old guy suffering from a mental disorder killed 9 people during a shooting in a mall. The Munich police used Twitter in order to keep everyone informed and posted constant updates. They not only tweeted in German but also English and French. Additionally, people shared their own stories on Twitter talking about more shootings that happened in the city centre. However, all of the other shootings turned out to be false alarm. A picture of a mall with blood and dead people on the floor were posted and shared everywhere. It turned out thats this picture was not from the shooting in Munich but from a shooting that happened in Johannesburg before. Within a short period of time, the police couldn´t control the flood of information on Twitter anymore. They even tweeted desperately: "Please don't take photos or video of police action in order to avoid any helpful information for the suspects". (Dyckmans 2016; The Local 2016; Mansholt 2016)

“Nowadays, in the age of social networks, it is no longer the police who have control over the quantity and timing of the release of information, but everyone,” - Thomas de Maiziere, Interior minister of Germany in 2016 (Shuster 2016).

I remember how my phone exploded on that day. People texted me if I am alright. In Whats App groups videos and pictures were spread and people randomly told that they have heard from someone that there is a shooting in another place. All this made me you crazy and afraid. Everyone thought that it is a terrorist attack at different places as it happened in Paris a few months before. However, this was not true. Social media makes is possible to spread information fast. This helped people in Paris to find a safe place. At the same time, this can be harmful since the flow and trueness of tweets can no longer be controlled which can lead to mass panic (Shuster 2016).

References

BBC Trending 2015, ´How the Paris attacks unfolded on social media´, BBC, 17 November, viewed 05 May 2018, http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-34836214.

Dyckmans, P 2016, ´4 Dinge, die wir nach der Amoknacht über Twitter gelernt haben´, Bayerischer Rundfunk, 26 August, viewed 05 May 2018, https://www.br.de/puls/themen/netz/4-dinge-die-wir-nach-der-amoknacht-ueber-twitter-gelernt-haben-100.html.

Goel, V & Ember, S 2015,´ As Paris Terror Attacks Unfolded, Social Media Tools Offered Help in Crisis´, The New York Times, 14 November, viewed 05 May 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/15/technology/as-paris-terror-attacks-unfolded-social-media-tools-offered-help-in-crisis.html.

Mansholt, M 2016, ´So erkennen Sie gefälschte Fotos in sozialen Medien´, Stern, 23 July, viewed 05 May 2018, https://www.stern.de/digital/online/muenchen-amoklauf-fakes-6977526.html.

Mercier, A 2015, ´How social media shaped our understanding of the Paris attacks´, The Conversation, 17 November, viewed 05 May, https://theconversation.com/how-social-media-shaped-our-understanding-of-the-paris-attacks-50814.

Shuster, S 2016, ´Munich Police Face Questions Over False Tweets During Shooting´, Time, 25 July, viewed 05 May 2018, http://time.com/4421410/munich-shooting-germany-terrorism-tweets/.

The Local 2016, ´Social media a blessing and a curse in Munich shooting´, 24 July, viewed 05 May 2018, https://www.thelocal.de/20160724/social-media-a-curse-and-a-blessing-in-munich-shooting.

[platformation]

Crowdsourcing In Times of Crisis

Merriam Webster dictionary defines crowdsourcing as the practice of obtaining needed services or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people and especially from the online community”. They discuss online crowdsourcing as a way to solve a crisis through the use of financial insentives or donations. An example of this can best be seen in the 2011 #qldfloods whereby the hashtag was used over 35,000 times to help disseminate information regarding the crisis. This allowed the QLD government to effectively reach its audience and amplify its message as well as to establish its account as a permanent means of crisis communication after gaining traction. 

Similarly, we’ve seen crowdsourcing at whole new levels go viral under the hashtag #prayforparis or #jesuisparis. After the 2015 Paris attacks claimed the lives of 129 people, more than 70 million people posted on Instagram in support and 6.7 million tweets being posted within the first 10 hours of the news. Similarly to the QLD floods, the #prayforparis hashtag allowed new outlets to quickly and effectively disseminate information to all those interested in the developments as well as Facebook allowing users within the area of the crisis to check in and notify friends and family that they were safe. The online crowdsourcing was a phenomenal success in terms of numbers, but what did it achieve practically? Well, as a result of the hashtags virality, Islamphobia throughout all western countries grew to its highest since the 9/11 attacks. 

Even more so, France itself recieved a huge decrease in tourism to the region as a result of the widespread fear of another attack. This in particular was especially harmful for the tourism industry there which accounts for 7% of economic activity. 

The question then begs: what does Crowsourcing actually do without a call to action? Well, in this case, not a whole lot of good apart from awareness and prayers. The Dalai Lama in response to this said “We can not solve this problem by prayer”, which I believe is true. Simply posting a photo and hashtagging shows support for Paris in the laziest way possible, and in turn has increased racism, violence and fear of travel.