scholarly journals Bots fired: examining social bot evidence in online mass shooting conversations

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ross Schuchard ◽  
Andrew Crooks ◽  
Anthony Stefanidis ◽  
Arie Croitoru
Keyword(s):  
Extreme Events ◽  
Online Social Networks ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Las Vegas ◽  
Gun Control ◽  
School Shooting ◽  
Centrality Measures ◽  
Mass Shootings ◽  
Mass Shooting ◽  
The Media

AbstractMass shootings, like other extreme events, have long garnered public curiosity and, in turn, significant media coverage. The media framing, or topic focus, of mass shooting events typically evolves over time from details of the actual shooting to discussions of potential policy changes (e.g., gun control, mental health). Such media coverage has been historically provided through traditional media sources such as print, television, and radio, but the advent of online social networks (OSNs) has introduced a new platform for accessing, producing, and distributing information about such extreme events. The ease and convenience of OSN usage for information within society’s larger growing reliance upon digital technologies introduces potential unforeseen risks. Social bots, or automated software agents, are one such risk, as they can serve to amplify or distort potential narratives associated with extreme events such as mass shootings. In this paper, we seek to determine the prevalence and relative importance of social bots participating in OSN conversations following mass shooting events using an ensemble of quantitative techniques. Specifically, we examine a corpus of more than 46 million tweets produced by 11.7 million unique Twitter accounts within OSN conversations discussing four major mass shooting events: the 2017 Las Vegas concert shooting, the 2017 Sutherland Springs church chooting, the 2018 Parkland School Shooting and the 2018 Santa Fe school shooting. This study’s results show that social bots participate in and contribute to online mass shooting conversations in a manner that is distinguishable from human contributions. Furthermore, while social bots accounted for fewer than 1% of total corpus user contributors, social network analysis centrality measures identified many bots with significant prominence in the conversation networks, densely occupying many of the highest eigenvector and out-degree centrality measure rankings, to include 82% of the top-100 eigenvector values of the Las Vegas retweet network.

scholarly journals Fighting National Amnesia: Profiling Public Attention to Mass Shootings in The United States

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miles Chandler
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
The United States ◽  
Gun Control ◽  
Decay Length ◽  
Public Attention ◽  
Mass Shootings ◽  
Search Volume ◽  
Mass Shooting

This study aims to identify factors that shape public perception and emotional response to mass shootings in the United States. I suggest that patterns of media coverage inform public consciousness and collective emotion. Newsworthiness and gatekeeping theories assert that school or prejudicial shootings and those with more victims are reported on at higher rates. Literature on racial and immigrant bias in media demonstrates that non-white shooters also generate more discourse. The directed construction of shootings and the affective public responses they generate align well with the concept of a “moral panic.” Using all valid cases from the Mother Jones Mass Shootings:1982-2019 dataset which align temporally with Google Trends data, I analyze the volume and decay rate of search topics “mass shooting,” “gun control,” and “open carry,” following US mass shootings from 2004-2019. Shootings with more victims predict a higher volume of searches for “mass shooting,” and shorter search periods for “gun control” and “open carry.” Shootings with educational and religious targets had no significant effects on search patterns. Workplace shootings result in longer search periods for “mass shooting,” and shorter periods for “gun control.” Non-white shooters generate shorter search decay for “open carry.” The results support theories of media gatekeeping, suggesting events with more casualties generate more intense public attention. The consistent negative correlation between search volume and decay length suggests that sensational responses to shootings are not sustainable over long periods of time and prohibit pragmatically addressing mass shootings.

Media Salience and Mass Murder

2018 ◽  
pp. 129-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaclyn Schildkraut ◽  
Glenn W. Muschert
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mass Murder ◽  
Time Dimension ◽  
Mass Shootings ◽  
Space Frames ◽  
Columbine High School ◽  
Mass Shooting ◽  
The Media

Mass shootings in the United States continue to be a cause for national concern both for the public and politicians alike. A key component in this pervasive discourse is the news media, which, since most people never will directly experience a mass shooting or other episodic violent crime, acts as the main source for information about these and other crime events. The present study analyzes the media coverage and framing patterns of 12 years of public mass shootings following the 1999 attack at Columbine High School. A two-dimensional analytic model is used to examine framing at both the spatial and temporal levels. The findings indicate that while the framing across the time dimension remains consistent with previous research, the use of the space frames departs from previous research, indicating a shift in the coverage. These findings and their associated implications for policy responses to mass shootings also are considered.

Creating a Climate of Fear

2021 ◽  
pp. 35-52
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Las Vegas ◽  
Mass Shootings ◽  
Death Toll ◽  
The Future ◽  
Culture Of Fear ◽  
Mass Shooting

This chapter looks at the news media articles relating to the 2017 Las Vegas shooting incident. It is shown that this incident is categorized by death toll in media coverage. Mass shootings generally are portrayed as an “ongoing trend” and are “normalized” to the extent that it appears they will occur again in the future. The news media also debates whether the incident should be defined as terrorism, deliberating about the criteria needed for an attack to be viewed as a terrorist act. Moreover, a sense of fear is conveyed and then amplified in news media coverage through accounts from eyewitnesses, descriptions of the shooting, and visualizations of the attack. This ultimately creates a culture of fear, whereby the risk of becoming victimized by a mass shooting is disproportionate to the actual threat faced.

scholarly journals The effect of mass shootings on daily emotions is limited by time, geographic proximity, and political affiliation

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (23) ◽  
pp. e2100846118
Author(s):  
Patrick Sharkey ◽  
Yinzhi Shen
Keyword(s):  
Media Coverage ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Gun Control ◽  
Emotional Impact ◽  
Geographic Scale ◽  
Mass Shootings ◽  
Continuous Survey ◽  
Mass Shooting ◽  
Political Actions

Media coverage in the aftermath of mass shootings frequently documents expressions of sadness and outrage shared by millions of Americans. This type of collective emotion can be a powerful force in establishing shared objectives and motivating political actions. Yet, the rise in mass shootings has not translated into widespread legislative progress toward gun control across the nation. This study is designed to shed light on this puzzle by generating causal evidence on the temporal and geographic scale of collective emotional responses to mass shootings. Using a unique continuous survey on Americans’ daily emotions without reference to specific events, our empirical strategy compares the daily emotions of residents interviewed after to those interviewed before 31 mass shootings within the same city or state where the event occurred. We found that the emotional impact of mass shootings is substantial, but it is local, short-lived, and politicized. These results suggest that if policy reform efforts are to draw on collective emotional responses to these events, they will likely have to start at the local level in the immediate aftermath of a mass shooting.

Public interest in gun control in the USA

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. i16-i17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua D Niforatos ◽  
Alexander R Zheutlin ◽  
Richard M Pescatore
Keyword(s):  
Public Interest ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Gun Control ◽  
Google Trends ◽  
Mass Shootings ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Political Events ◽  
Inflection Points ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Mass Shooting

To characterise public interest in gun control in the USA using internet search queries, we undertook a cross-sectional study of the relative popularity Google Trends searchers for ‘Gun Control’, ‘Second Amendment’, ‘National Rifle Association’ and ‘Mass Shooting’ from May 2015 to December 2018. 740 weeks of data were queried. Graphed data revealed nine major inflection points. Seven of the nine (78%) major inflection points were associated with mass shootings, while two of the nine (22%) were related to political events by either the president of the USA or a presidential candidate. Our exploration of Google Trends shows the frequency of national searches related to gun control peaks with mass shootings over a 1–2-week period and then stabilises to nominal relative popularity thereafter suggesting a need to engage the public on gun control during ‘trough’ periods in order to sustain national interest and dialogue.

A Historical Perspective on the “Mental Illness as Motive” Narrative

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-62
Author(s):  
Cassandra Kearney
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
News Media ◽  
Historical Perspective ◽  
Perceived Threat ◽  
Mass Shootings ◽  
The Public ◽  
Historical Significance ◽  
Mass Shooting ◽  
The Media

In an effort to better understand the historical significance of the “mental illness as motive” narrative, this essay investigates what has been recognized as the first mass shooting in the modern United States—Howard Unruh’s 1949 mass shoot¬ing in Camden, New Jersey. Given that mass shootings were an unprecedented phenomenon, the news media played an important role in explaining the event. As will be shown, many Americans felt uncertain about how mental illness man¬ifested and who was vulnerable. Given the often undisclosed, albeit perceived threat of schizophrenia, the public needed reassurance that there would be some indicator of insanity. Accordingly, the media used evidence of religious fanaticism and unfavorable physical descriptions of Unruh to cast him as separate, outside, or an “other.” Ultimately, the media’s rhetorical choices differentiated Unruh and attempted to make mental illness easier to identify for an audience afraid of its influence.

scholarly journals After the Mass Shooting in Las Vegas — Finding Common Ground on Gun Control

2017 ◽  
Vol 377 (17) ◽  
pp. 1679-1680 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward W. Campion ◽  
Stephen Morrissey ◽  
Debra Malina ◽  
Chana A. Sacks ◽  
Jeffrey M. Drazen
Keyword(s):  
Common Ground ◽  
Las Vegas ◽  
Gun Control ◽  
Mass Shooting

The Aftermath of the 2017 Las Vegas Mass Shooting

2020 ◽  
pp. 325-338
Author(s):  
Monica Bixby Radu ◽  
Sarah Kuborn ◽  
Lisa McManus
Keyword(s):  
Las Vegas ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Financial Strain ◽  
Social Environments ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Mass Shootings ◽  
Mental Health Issues ◽  
Mass Shooting

Mass shootings are catastrophic events that terrorize individuals, families, and communities. Research suggests that there are numerous negative consequences associated with a mass shooting, including financial strain, loss time from work, and both physical and mental health issues. As individuals cope with the aftermath of these traumatic events, they often rely on their immediate social environments, including their family and friends. More recently, research suggests that the techno-subsystem may be an additional context where individuals find and obtain support following a mass shooting. Drawing from literature on social capital and ecological systems theory, this chapter qualitatively explores how individuals frame their requests for financial assistance through the crowdfunding website, GoFundMe.com following the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, NV. This chapter discusses the implications of these qualitative frames, also addressing how various social contexts may intersect to provide support those who have been traumatized by a mass shooting.

Mass Killings Past, Present, and Future

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Sheri Jenkins Keenan ◽  
Jeffrey P. Rush
Keyword(s):  
Gun Control ◽  
Mass Shootings ◽  
Public Places ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Second Amendment ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Mass Shooting ◽  
Mass Killings ◽  
Double Digit ◽  
Health Experts

Mass shootings have been of interest and concern to a variety of experts including psychologists, sociologists, criminologists, public health experts, and policy makers. Journalists have tracked mass shooting events for a long time. Recently, mass shootings in public places have dominated the national dialogue about gun violence, gun control, and Second Amendment protections due to several mass pubic shootings in recent years that resulted in double-digit victim counts. Regardless of the why, it seems clear that the ability to identify and predict this behavior as early as possible is important, for the killer as well as the community.

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