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Social Media in the Boston Marathon Bombing

Note: This article is hosted here for archival purposes only. It does not necessarily represent the values of the Iron Warrior or Waterloo Engineering Society in the present day.

April 15 was a Massachusetts state holiday and many of its residents were out enjoying the weather. Unfortunately, I was stuck working at my co-op position at a hospital in downtown Boston. Around 3pm, I had decided to settle down at my desk for a quick coffee break. Logging onto to Facebook, I saw a stream of updates about a bombing. It took me a few seconds, but I soon realized that the bombing happened in my own city and and the location was just down the street.  Minutes later, the alert for incoming patients was given over the hospital speakers.  There seemed to be a moment of silent shock then concern for those affected with friends and family contacting each other to see if they were okay. The majority of cell phones were blocked due to concerns that they could be used to trigger more bombs. Facebook became a critical tool to allow people to communicate.

However, shortly after this period came a torrent of racism and misinformation in an effort to identify the root of the bombing. Twitter exploded with anti-Muslim remarks and racist comments. Also present were the cries of “death to America” by a minority but, very vocal number of extremists. Misinformation included accusations against Al-Qaeda, North Korea and the Muslim world in general. As people all over Boston saw police activity in their area, they were quick to report their interpretation of events. This misinformation wasn’t even restricted to the amateur reporting in social media outlets. Major news agencies reported on unconfirmed observations and within an hour of the initial attack, the people of Boston faced the possibility of multiple undetonated bombs scattered around the city and another attack at a local library.

After the excitement cooled down, the world was eager to find the culprits. Reddit, 4chan and bloggers sorted through pictures of the event hoping to find suspicious behavior. Multiple innocent people were tagged as potential bombers simply for holding a backpack or looking in the wrong direction.  When a photo of the potential bomber was released by the FBI, Reddit was quick to identify Sunil Tripathy as the bomber. Sunil Tripathy was a university student that had gone missing prior to the bombing and bore a small resemblance to one of the men in the released photos. The connection was enough for people on social media sites. His picture and infamy quickly spread across the internet to the dismay of his family. Experts, however, note that the widespread use of pictures and videos at the marathon were incredibly useful in identifying the bombers (at least to the professionals). Photos could be assembled to create a timeline of the event and people could be tracked moving in between photos.

A few days later, in the middle of the night, another flood of information swept over the internet. The suspects, Tamerlan Tsarnaev and Dzhokhar Tsarneav, were on the loose and causing mayhem north of Boston. With the release of their names came another wave of speculation and misinformation about their origins and motivation. Finally, it was confirmed that the Tsarnaev family were ethnic Chechens and Muslims, although, the brothers grew up in America and Dzhokhar was a US citizen. So far, the evidence has indicated that they were lone wolves and home grown radicals. Although the Chechen insurgency is targeted toward Russia, the brothers felt unified with Muslims killed by US involvement in the Middle East. While a great effort is taken to block the entry of radical religious leaders into western countries, homegrown terrorism is a growing problem in the youth.

The internet has been blamed for this problem as it allows access to radical ideas and terrorist propaganda. Youtube videos and online articles produced by extremists all over the world can spread across the internet, infecting otherwise isolated populations in western countries. Inspire, a magazine supposedly released by Al-Qaeda affiliates, is available online and gives details on how to make a pressure cooker bomb similar to the one used in the Boston bombing and the failed Times Square bombing in 2010. These Youtube videos often combine religion and anti-western sentiment to justify terrorism. Similar videos were found on the brothers’ Youtube playlists. From interviewing those close to the family, it appears that their family believed in conspiracy theories that are prevalent on Youtube, including 9/11 denial. Youtube videos are in no way restricted to radical Islam, thousands of videos exist of various conspiracy theories, racist agendas and calls for violence. Also on YouTube, an interview of their Uncle Ruslan Tsarni strongly disowning the actions of the brothers became viral. It gave a fresh face to the Chechen people that perhaps improved the abrupt impression left on the western public.

Social media allows information to flow unfiltered and unrestricted. This can be used to quickly notify loved ones and help each other in an emergency. Unfortunately it is also being used to nurture home-grown terrorism and propagate misinformation and racism. While the entertainment value of social media ensures its persistence, its negative effects on society can be minimized by increased awareness of the problems surrounding it.

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