How Social Media Stood Alive During Mumbai Terror
The terrifying and horrendous terror attacks in Mumbai were not only covered by the press media, but also by social media throughout the world. Social media sites like Twitter, Dailymotion, Flickr and several blogs included information and messages pertaining to the attacks to inform readers about the latest happenings taking place in the financial capital of India.
With over 6 million members spread across the globe, around eighty messages or ‘tweets’ were sent to Twitter every five seconds through Short Message Service (SMS) in an attempt to provide the latest updates to the eyewitnesses. However, the thing that is really worth appreciating is that several Twitter users sent blood donation pleas to donors and asked them go to specific Mumbai-based hospitals where doctors faced low stocks of blood and increasing casualties.
Several others also extended help by sending useful information regarding helplines and contact numbers for those whose friends and dear ones were stuck in the attacks. Also, twitters were activated to assist with preparing a list of those who were dead and injured in the attacks, which was immediately posted online for relatives to see.
Bloggers too played a big role in spreading across the messages about the recent actions taking place in Mumbai. For instance, bloggers on ‘Mumbai Help’ offered to help users get access to their loved ones in the city or to get information about them.
Photo sharing site Flickr came handy in displaying photographs of the aftermath of the attacks. One of the journalist’s photographs were published by CNN as well as other broadcasters.
However, several too had to face problem of rumors and misleading information during the whole incident, especially on Twitter. For instance, a rumor that the Government of India (GoI) has asked tweeters to stop live updates to avoid spreading information on its security efforts was published on the Web site. Also there were concerns that terrorists might use the medium to know what tactics were being employed by the security forces.
It was also said that there were rounds of inaccurate information being passed on the site regarding the number of people killed and injured in the attack and so on.
From this, we can understand two things: (1) Social media can play a major role in co-coordinating efforts during urgent situations like terrorist attacks by providing emotional support and useful information about helpline numbers and shortage of necessities. (2) The information in form of news passed on through such sites cannot be trusted always as they can be erroneous and cause unnecessary misunderstandings for the viewers.
