2 ms·

I suspect the copycat effect is a large part of it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_shooting_contagion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_shooting_contagion

by _zagj 2y ago

I suspect the copycat effect is a large part of it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_shooting_contagion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_shooting_contagion The media has historically, starting with Columbine, been extremely irresponsible when it comes to school shootings, showing little of the discretion that it does when it comes to youth suicide (for which they've adopted professional standards informed by CDC, WHO, etc. recommendations: https://afsp.org/ethicalreporting/ https://afsp.org/ethicalreporting/), to the point that it's given perpetrators fame that's endured decades after their demise: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/30/us/school-shootings-columbine.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/30/us/school-shootings-colum... And they're doing this not just out of recklessness, but out of a pretty clear bias and desire to leverage these events to produce support for gun control.

anigbrowl 2y ago
Youi're showing a lot of cognitive bias here. It's very reasonable for the media to cover mass casualty events, that's definitely their job. Another thing that has changed (which you haven't addressed at all) is that there are communities of mass shooting enthusiasts online who collect data on them, lionize the perpetrators, spread their manifestos, and encourage others to commit similar acts. People write guides with a mixture of justification for motives and sharing of practical techniques and advice, similar in format to the magazines periodically published by Al Qaeda. At least one such outfit has been designated as a terrorist group in several countries and several of its members have been arrested and are facing criminal charges.
- CompanionCubee 2y ago
  >Another thing that has changed (which you haven't addressed at all) is that there are communities of mass shooting enthusiasts online who collect data on them, lionize the perpetrators, spread their manifestos Which is directly enabled by the coverage mentioned in GP.

by _zagj 2y ago

anigbrowl 2y ago

Youi're showing a lot of cognitive bias here. It's very reasonable for the media to cover mass casualty events, that's definitely their job. Another thing that has changed (which you haven't addressed at all) is that there are communities of mass shooting enthusiasts online who collect data on them, lionize the perpetrators, spread their manifestos, and encourage others to commit similar acts. People write guides with a mixture of justification for motives and sharing of practical techniques and advice, similar in format to the magazines periodically published by Al Qaeda. At least one such outfit has been designated as a terrorist group in several countries and several of its members have been arrested and are facing criminal charges.

CompanionCubee 2y ago
>Another thing that has changed (which you haven't addressed at all) is that there are communities of mass shooting enthusiasts online who collect data on them, lionize the perpetrators, spread their manifestos Which is directly enabled by the coverage mentioned in GP.