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Think twice
Does sharing shocking posts on social media do more harm than good ?
By Wade Zaglas
It ’ s an act that perhaps many of us have
done without much thought – sharing something shocking , disastrous or criminal online . While some refrain from sharing such posts , Associate Professor Alyce McGovern from UNSW says the filming of crimes and natural catastrophes can be “ both beneficial and detrimental ”.
According to McGovern , people need to be aware that posting footage of victims to social media can cause a great deal of distress for loved ones .
“ Because of the immediacy of social media , posts often go online before people even know what ’ s happening to family members or friends ,” said McGovern , an expert in criminology at UNSW ' s Arts & Social Sciences faculty .
“ If you think about the families or the victims , having this content uploaded online is incredibly distressing .”
THE BAD The criminologist refers to a video that emerged of a vicious knife attack in the UK in March , instigating police and government officials to request the content not be shared on social media . The violent attack resulted in three men being killed and three others injured .
McGovern argues that the sharing of shocking and distressing content following such an attack brings up questions about social responsibility for the huge social media platforms .
“ We even saw it after the Christchurch attack with the live streaming ,” McGovern says , when an Australian-born extremist shot indiscriminately at worshippers in two mosques in Christchurch in 2019 . As a result of that distressing footage , which remained online for some time , Australia introduced tougher penalties for social media platforms .
Now , “ big corporates who continue to defy the legislation ” and do not remove “ abhorrent violent material ” can be threatened with a fine of roughly $ 10 million , the criminologist says .
On the face of it this seems like robust legislation , but McGovern was informed by a spokesperson for the eSafety Commission that the legislation covers large media companies such as Facebook and Twitter , and for it to apply the so-called “ harmful material ” must be posted by the perpetrator , not the bystanders .
THE GOOD However , McGovern also argues that retweeting or reposting shocking content online can aid police investigations by “ raising awareness to identify potential suspects ”.
For instance , in 2014 McGovern and her colleague Dr Sanja Milivojevic analysed the criminalisation , policing and crime prevention strategies on social media during the 2012 Jill Meagher case , titled The Death of Jill Meagher : Crime and Punishment on Social Media .
Jill Meagher was sexually assaulted and murdered by Adrian Bayley while walking home in Melbourne in 2012 . Described as a
“ recidivist violent sex offender ” by the judge , Bayley received a life sentence and nonparole period of 35 years .
“ We found that social media played a really significant role in the early stages of that case , in highlighting her disappearance , and then it kind of transferred into more traditional media platforms ,” McGovern says .
“ The sharing of CCTV footage on social media , which had been made ( publicly ) available , helped to raise awareness and to identify potential suspects .”
Two other ways in which sharing shocking or criminal social media content can be beneficial are in investigating police conduct ( through filming their actions and then posting them to a site ) and assisting emergency services .
In the case of emergencies , McGovern says the ability of Facebook and Twitter to “ alert people to emergencies in real time , such as the recent bushfires and floods , has also been a useful tool for emergency services ”.
Even though some individuals shared old or incorrect maps of fires ravaging regions , social media “ enabled the police and State Emergency Services to myth-bust some of the disinformation that was out there ,” she says .
“ There was also an initiative that emerged initially through Twitter called Find A Bed , which connected people who had become homeless as a result of the [ most recent bushfire ] disaster . So , there are really good results that can come from using social media in that way .”
McGovern says we are living in a time when images are central to our lives , and this creates an ethical dilemma of sorts .
“ It ’ s tricky , because I don ’ t think there ' s necessarily ever been a clear position on when it ' s good or bad [ to film what turns out to be a tragic event ], because in those moments people don ' t necessarily know what ' s unfolding in front of them ,” she says .
“ And there ’ s often that instinctual response now to pull out your camera and film what ' s happening .
“ When encountering these scenarios , people should consider the implications of posting images and footage of tragic events online .
“ Both in terms of contributing to the harm for the friends and family of victims , and for the potential to contribute to sensationalised representations of events .” ■
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