Don’t Panic

Stratfor analyst Scott Stewart wisely notes that panic in the face of terrorism plays into the hands of terrorists. Panic is what they want. And he explains that the media, internet, and even government can be “terror magnifiers”:

“The traditional news media are not alone in the role of terror magnifier. The Internet has become an increasingly effective conduit for panic and alarm. From hysterical (and false) claims in 2005 that al Qaeda had pre-positioned nuclear weapons in the United States and was preparing to attack nine U.S. cities and kill 4 million Americans in operation ‘American Hiroshima’ to 2010 claims that Mexican drug cartels were smuggling nuclear weapons into the United States for Osama bin Laden, a great deal of fearmongering can spread rapidly over the Internet.

“Website operators who earn advertising revenue based on the number of unique site visitors have an obvious financial incentive to publish outlandish and startling terrorism stories. The Internet also has produced a wide array of other startling claims, including oft-recycled email chains such as the one stating that an Israeli counterterrorism expert had predicted al Qaeda will attack six, seven or eight U.S. cities simultaneously “within the next 90 days.” This email first circulated in 2005 and periodically has reappeared since then. Although it is an old, false prediction, it still creates fear every time it circulates.”