Rise of Social Media in the Ability of Western Military - Essay Example

?Consider the mediatisation of warfare. Does the rise of social media change the ability of western military to control perceptions of contemporary conflicts? A. Introduction In recent years, the social media which includes Facebook, Twitter, and other similar websites, has had a major impact on world events, not just in the social, but also in the political stratosphere. This can be evidenced by the ability of the social media to affect various phenomena like fashion, entertainment, and sports, as well as political opinions relating to education, health, and wars. Its impact on the turnout of the Egyptian civil war a few years back indicates has been considered very much significant, so much so that it was greatly contributory towards ending the war and to have it end in the direction of the mass of social media users. The government resources and power was no match for the hordes of people which were notified through the social media about where and when to meet for rallies and demonstrations. The Egyptian civil war was known as the Facebook Revolution, largely in recognition for the huge role of Facebook and the social media on the turnout of the war in the favor of the majority of Facebook users. This is a phenomenon which would likely be repeated in the future. There have already been incidents when the media and the social media has had an impact on warfare, so much so that it has also affected the western ability to control the perceptions of contemporary conflicts. This essay shall discuss this point further, seeking to answer how the rise of social media change the ability of western military to control perceptions of contemporary conflicts. This essay shall argue that the rise of the social media has decreased the ability of the western military to control perceptions of contemporary conflicts, especially in relation to how these wars are fought, how necessary or unnecessary they may be, how long they are fought, and in what favor the wars should end. Initially, a general overview of the impact of the social media on warfare will be discussed. This shall include a discussion on key theories related to the subject matter. This shall be followed by a discussion of various incidents where the social media has impacted on warfare in different parts of the world. The latter part shall then relate the impact of the social media on how the western military has been able to control (or not control) the perceptions of contemporary conflicts. B. Body In considering the theories discussed during this course, the media determinism theory is likely the closest theory which would help explain the impact of the social media on warfare and the outcomes of warfare (Chandler, 1995). The theory discusses how the media seems to imply a direction in opinions and actions which is not within the cultural or political influence. There is a belief in this case that the media has a strong governing impact on society. It impacts on how individuals think and how they relate with each other. It drives social progress and innovation. This theory declares that media impacts significantly on society and it can have a significant cause and effect relationship with society (Chandler, 1995). Media technologies, including the social media can bring about change in society. This theory is a simplistic assessment of complicated situations, with cause and effect relations decreased to their lowest premise, sometimes managed in those conditions. Innis and McLuhan have applied this theory as they declare how the media can shape a person’s and society’s self-perception as well as realization (Chandler, 1995). In general, this theory highlights the fact that the media can impact significantly on how society and technology can impact on the general population. In this case, the social media is an innovation of the media. It is a new aspect of media relations which is also having a similar impact on society and how they understand, perceive, and conceptualize information. In other words, the theory supports the notion that the social media has an impact on culture and politics, also the perception and possible actions and decisions which stem from the images and opinions released through the social media (Sherry, 2004). The use of the social media during wars and crisis has been the dominant trend ever since social media has been established. Researchers have evaluated how individuals use the social media during floods and earthquakes, terrorist attacks, school shootings, and wars (Bruns, et.al., 2012; Starbird, et.al., 2010; Starbird, et.al., 2011; Cheong and Lee, 2010; Paelen and Vieweg, 2008; Lotan, et.al., 2011). While these incidents have specific and unique qualities inherent to them, crises attributed to wars have different qualities. They are a part of daily life and they turn extraordinary incidents into ordinary and normal events. Studies on the social media usage during the Iraqi war for instance have indicated the use of blogs and how these blogs assisted the Iraqis in informing the world about what was happening in the country, with real time features for these blogs (Monroy-Hernandez, et.al., 2013). These blogs also allowed for discussions which were sometimes socially frowned upon (Mark, et.al., 2012). These blogs also impacted on socialization activities, including weddings, marriages, and the wearing of the kaffiyeh (Paelen and Vieweg, 2008). Based on the model of crises, Seeman and Mark (2012) point out that individuals utilize the social media in different ways, mostly depending on where they may find themselves during times of crisis. These authors also emphasize that war is a special situation for crisis informatics, especially as individuals are going through different levels concurrently; in effect, the application of the social media can cover different needs. It is also important to understand under these conditions the role and impact of government officials during crises and wars. Most times, governments want to ensure helpful roles in ensuring normalcy within their territories, mostly by managing data and information being disseminated to the general public (Monroy-Hernandez, et.al., 2013). For instance, in the US, the Public Information Officers are those assigned to coordinate information released to the public during crises (Latonero, et.al., 201). Authors also established that with the introduction of the social media, the function of the PIOs has changed. These PIOs can now speak directly with the public through the social media. They also have to manage the speedy spread of wrong information on the same social media websites (Hughes and Palen, 2012). Government units use technology to update their constituents, however, the data provided is usually not complete and sometimes insufficient (Hagar, et.al., 2005). Moreover, some governments use technology to sometimes provide inaccurate information to the public. This was noted with China during the SARS health crisis (Qu, 2009). Based on the above conditions, the social media emerged as a venue by which an alternative narrative of data can be secured, one which provides an alternative from the dominant government media. This was observed during the Egyptian Facebook Revolution (Al-Ani, et.al., 2012). Still, despite the rising power of the social media as well as other information options, the PIOs in countries like the US are still considered the major source of data. However for the war zones, the PIOs’ authority is decreased by the conflict and cannot sufficiently function under these conditions. As such, the government data is sometimes not reliable (Seeman and Mark, 2012). Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, including other social media websites, are included in the countless computer-based communication resources which have gained much popularity with the general population (Ellison and Boyd, 2013). Social media allows participants to contribute information and share such data to others. The overall user-generated information often contrasts with the information released by experts who often discuss the general merits of such user-generated data. Still, when individuals participate in the social media discussions, they help make possible a participatory arrangement which has a greater impact when compared to the actual official data released by the government (Jenkins, et.al., 2013). Individuals have different roles within this system as they help secure and spread data, also commenting on these and sometimes criticizing such information. Wars are not anymore just about bombs or guns, they are now about words. This has been an accepted fact for many years now. Such ‘war of words’ took on a new meaning last year where a Twitter war was engaged between the Israeli Defense Force and the Hamas (Michael, 2012). The Israel Defense force actually Tweeted its attack against the Hamas which eventually led to the death of a Hamas leader. The tweet and the Hamas response (also on Twitter) have been labeled as a significant development in the use of the social media. It is also considered one of the most relevant exchanges in the social media use and on war in the past two decades (Michael, 2012). It is triggering questions on the ethics as well as the impact of live-tweets during violent conflicts. It is also re-evaluating the democratic position on how all people use the social media, especially as the social media is now known for providing a voice to protesters and civilians, more than the official government or military personnel (Michael, 2012). Under these conditions, the social media seems to have become the megaphone for the military. The military and government officials have adopted broadcasts using the radio and television, including other resources within their disposal. The difference is on the coverage and the speed of messages within the social media, and how these often get stale in short periods of time (Michael, 2012). The social media has reinvented communication processes and the changes which these networks have made have been considered very much significant within the larger context of media usage. With fears of escalating violence, Israel has released data on three individuals killed, with Hamas claiming 20 Palestinians who have died (Michael, 2012). About 270 rockets have also been unleashed from Gaza and into Israel, based on military reports from Israel. About 140 strikes have been seen in Gaza according to the Hamas with both sides making the necessary responses to retaliate. Based on Tweets from the IDFS, an attack on Gaza would be made. The IDF initiated its campaign against terror sites within the Gaza Strip and it tweeted that it was targeting the Hamas and the Islamic Jihadists (Stein, 2012). More warnings to the Hamas were made. The Hamas also replied using Twitter, claiming that the airstrikes were killing innocent civilians and graphic images were also posted accompanying these tweets. The live updates through the social media also trigger questions on internet use and the content which Web companies allow for posting (Stein, 2012). At some point, the graphic images or videos are removed, and some retained because they do not technically violate social media use and copyright laws. Where the videos also have news value, these videos and images are not removed from news websites, allowing the general public to be informed of the devastation caused by warring factions. The situation above demonstrates that the social media has a major impact on the wars and how wars are being fought now (Stein, 2012). The spread and the use of information are now at a rate which cannot be controlled by the government, even where the data released may not be favorable to its image or to its authority. In the past, the western military has been able to control what, where, when, and how much data should be released to the general public. This allowed them to censor, control, and even manipulate the information released to the general public (Al-Ani, et.al., 2010). However, in the current age of social media combined with the widespread use of portable video and camera phones, any information on wars and civil unrest is now accessible and recordable by any member of the public. Immediately, they can be shared to anyone, anywhere in the world. The military and government authorities are unable to control the type of data released to the public and the individuals who can view and comment of these data (Al-Ani, et.al., 2010). In a matter of minutes from the initial posting of information through social networking sites, there are so many things which can already happen. Information disseminated can be devastating to governments, and can sometimes topple people in power, pushing the authorities into action based on the images and information released through the social media (Mark, et.al., 2012). The military cannot control such information because of the number of individuals who view and who then share the information through the social media websites. Each person who views and shares such information has his or her own opinion about the information received. Some of the information shared may often be presented out of context and as such can evoke general reactions which may not be understood by the general public (Groebel, et.al., 2007). An image of a young Muslim girl lying dead on the road side would likely evoke the outrage of majority of individuals viewing such an image through the social media. The world would likely see this image and feel anger towards Americans and other Allied countries deployed in the Middle East. What the general may not see from the image is the fact that hours before the child was killed, she was used by the Islamic Jihadists to gather intelligence on the Americans in their village, and that she was later caught in the crossfire between the Jihadists who later attacked the village in the desire to drive away the Americans and recruit new members (Hjarvard, 2008). These are possible scenarios which the rest of the world may not understand and may not see from a simple image or information posted on the internet. However, the accurate data is usually overshadowed by the information spread through the social media, simply because of the greater number of people using and sharing information through Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. As the social media is continuing to dominate society, its impact in armed conflicts in wars is set to increase. From the Arab Spring phenomenon, the Egypt Revolution, and the Occupy Wall Street, social media has become an information resource used with growing prominence (Monroy-Hernandez, et.al., 2013). The social media is being used in war-like settings, including their possible impact and challenges for the future. There are various activities and a great number of individuals using the social media to notify and alert others especially during recurrent civil crises. These alerts often include locations for participation in demonstrations and similar civilly disruptive activities (Monroy-Hernandez, et.al., 2013). As such, the discussion above indicates the significant and influential impact that social media users have as they serve as curators of relevant information regarding current events. In various crisis informatics activities and in various studies on online communities, people are usually willing to trust strangers, due to the minimal costs involved, or possibly due to the greater gains expected (Monroy-Hernandez, et.al., 2013). Still, for those imparting data within settings which are highly risky, the possible risks of sharing are greater. In most ways, the experiences of those impacted by wars and civil unrest are similar to those usually experienced by criminals exposed to a setting where they may be punished or caught. However, within lawless areas experiencing unrest, the situation is somehow reversed. This situation presents new avenues for study and design. On one hand, designers seek empowerment of the devastated citizens to seek a safe place where they can express and share available information (Monroy-Hernandez, et.al., 2013). On the other hand, the same information which can help the affected citizens in gathering and gaining data from troubled conditions also seem to present important resources which criminals can apply under lawful conditions. Consequently, studies, same as this research present issues in design which also present imposing questions on free speech, rights, the protection of the digital environment, and general freedoms (Monroy-Hernandez, et.al., 2013). As the designer are trying to manage this issue, one solution seems clear – that there is a high need to secure technical remedies in order to secure trust without having to expose user identity. Most identity processes under these conditions focus on evaluating whether someone is actually who they say they are (Jenkins, et.al., 2013). In fact, Twitter has started to secure measures to ensure verified identities. Although verification has become important in different interactions, it is not necessarily what the curators needed. Although verification may present a viable alternative, what is ultimately important to know where or now the data which is being presented is credible (Jenkins, et.al., 2013). One of the ways by which individuals often seek to secure credible data is via reproducibility. Researchers often evaluate their sources by trying to personally interview such sources. This situation may also be replicated in the online setting. A user may be able to see who else posted a Twitter message and also view the relationship which exists between those posting (Jenkins, et.al., 2013). Where data is posted among individuals who are actually all connected with each other, it may not be as reliable as compared to when data was actually posted by largely disconnected people not sharing any similar qualities. Other qualities of the social media interface may also have been seen to secure helpful alternatives to assess credibility, including profile pictures, real names, and even connections to external personal webpages of known personalities. C. Conclusion Various contexts have been indicated where the social media has secured another option for the user-generated form of communication which can cover weaknesses on the flow of data. However, such channel has its issues on credibility including elements on trust and misinformation. Without securing strong signals in understanding trustworthiness on available data or reputation for the people, viewers seek to understand the type of available data. This is not a new problem, however, it is becoming more important where high stakes situations are observed. Misinformation can have serious effects, for those who are using misinformation, including those who are transmitting it. 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