"[T]he highest order of business" for journalists is to try and get to the facts without giving shooters the attention they seek, but that's become more difficult with this new wave of "performative" attacks,Terence Samuel, chair of the National Press Foundation Board of Directors and former editor-in-chief at USA Today, told Axios. Threat level: Theinternet subculture that fosters and spreads extremist communities online isn't going anywhere, and journalists have to learn how to navigate the toxic ideology they put out."
"Megan Squire, a data analyst and extremist researcher, told Axios that attaching memes to an attack is the logical way to connect to and inspire others to do the same in the age of social media. "They know that whatever they write on the gun, the bullet, the manifesto, it's going to make it into the news cycle, because people are hungry to understand the motive," Squire said."
The highest order of business for journalists is to get to the facts without giving shooters the attention they seek. A new wave of performative attacks has made avoiding amplification more difficult. An internet subculture fosters and spreads extremist communities online and will persist, requiring journalists to learn to navigate its toxic ideology. Attackers increasingly attach memes to attacks to connect with and inspire others through social media, knowing written messages will enter the news cycle as audiences seek motives. Many attackers lack clear ideology, are deeply online, and often seek chaos rather than coherent aims. Reporting should center survivors' interests, voices and needs rather than sensationalizing violent acts.
Read at Axios
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