A critical analysis: fake news and hoaxes in the aftermath of the Las Vegas attack
The worst mass shooting in U.S History is an event one would expect to be covered from every possible angle. The attack on a Las Vegas country music festival by so-called ‘lone wolf’ gunman Stephen Paddock has dominated headlines since it occured last Sunday night, and new stories are still emerging almost a week later.
Once the initial event had happened and the facts of the tragedy were established, news outlets were left to consider the wider impact. What does the coverage of a major event such as this say about journalism as a profession? The Independent published a story covering the high volume of false stories that were circulated online in the immediate aftermath of the attack, and considered the possible intent of these hoaxes.
I have chosen this specific article as the target of my critical analysis as it encompasses several interesting disciplines within the practice of journalism. The author — Andrew Griffin — must have considered the ethical issues that are always involved when covering a highly emotional event with such a high fatality rate. While fact checking is always crucial, it is especially important in an article of this nature, that focuses on the danger of spreading misinformation. The article also touches on — although does not directly name — the concept of citizen journalism when discussing the rush to identify the killer online before the police had confirmed it (Griffin, 2017).
The most interesting issue that this article raises is the concept of ‘fake news’ and its role in the aftermath of the attack. ‘Fake news’ has become somewhat of a hot topic in recent months, especially in the wake of the U.S presidential election. The article caught my eye from both an academic and a journalistic point of view, and so I decided to analyse the way in which it is discussed in the mainstream media.
The narrative in this article is split in to three distinct sections (‘Fake Pictures’, ‘False Identities’, and ‘A number of shootings, or a number of shooters’), as well as the introduction. Within these three sections, are three sub-narratives.
The main characters that appear in all three sections are the people who are spreading these false stories, as they are the main subjects of the article. Other characters are named individuals such as gunman Stephen Paddock, internet personality Sam Hyde, and Geary Danley, who was wrongly named as the gunman on social media platforms. The police are also vital characters within this article, as the information that they provide acts as the evidence against these false stories, which creates an element of conflict.
This conflict between the false information spread online by civilians in the wake of the attack, and the correct information later released by police is the main source of movement within the story. It’s the compelling element that urges the reader to continue their interest. There is further conflict within this by the suggestion that some of the false information was spread on purpose to create confusion. There is also conflict created by the writer, by suggesting that the issues raised in the article have no clearcut answer:
“It’s not clear why people do this. It seems partly aimed at causing inconvenience for the people whose images are being shared, and partly simply to cause confusion in the wake of the event.”
This could be to engage the reader more, to encourage them to reach their own conclusion using the information provided. To cast a critical eye over the article, I would suggest that an interview with an expert (a psychologist, perhaps) would have been useful here, to provide a more credible theory about why these fake pictures were being spread and perhaps further the narrative by suggesting ways to combat the problem.
There does not seem to be a physical setting within this article, outside of Las Vegas where the actual shooting occured. Alternatively, the internet itself could be considered the main setting, although no specific websites or social media networks are named. An example of a member of the public spreading false information would have provided physical evidence of the issue being discussed, rather than just the anecdotal evidence that is the driving force behind the narrative of the article. This could be done through the use of embedded tweets or screenshots, as demonstrated in a BBC News article on the same subject (Bell, 2017).
Overall, this article by The Independent highlights a unique and contemporary aspect of disaster reporting that I feel has not had the opportunity to be fully explored in the mainstream media or academia. Griffin introduces the issue but only scratches the surface rather than fully considering the theories and implications of this rise in ‘fake news’ within the context of a fatal event. I would even go so far to suggest that this is a subject matter I could potentially explore for my MA project, as it’s a complex issue that would need to be explored in more detail in order to fully do it justice.
References:
Griffin, A. (2017) ‘Las Vegas attack: Hoaxes and fake news spread after deadliest mass shooting in US history’, The Independent. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/las-vegas-shooting-hoaxes-false-news-stories-stephen-paddock-attack-suspects-a7979366.html#explainer-question-0. [Accessed 05 October 2017].
Bell, C. (2017) ‘Las Vegas: The fake photos shared after tragedies’, BBC News. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-41467035 [Accessed 05 October 2017]
