But there are lessons here for error correction in the modern media world. As CJR’s Craig Silverman recently noted, with the old fact-checking systems more or less decimated, there’s an urgent need for news organizations to devise new internal strategies—and train their staff in them. That’s especially so when, as in a case like this, it’s easy to tap into Google and find “confirmation” for a claim that may not be true. (To be clear, there’s no evidence here that the AP and LAT have, compared to the rest of the industry, failed to do this. On this issue, these outlets performed better than many others.)
Silverman has also talked about the need to think of corrections as “content that can stand on its own,” so that they “truly become integrated within the river of news we hear so much about.”
That entails logistical innovations that would get corrections to readers in different ways. But it also entails, I think, publishing stories—not just on blogs, but also in newspapers and on TV—that aim to correct, or debunk, false memes that are getting widespread play from other news outlets.
As it happens, the Los Angeles Times itself recently published a story, headlined “Suspect in Northwest Airlines bomb plot had round-trip ticket,” that may have just that effect. Articles like this could be written in the wake of almost every attempted terrorist attack: as Sebastian Rotella, one of the reporters on the story, noted via e-mail, early coverage of these events is plagued by inaccuracy.
Rotella also said something else interesting: he and his colleague Peter Nicholas reported the story “because it was news, not with refutation in mind.” (Presumably the news hook was that White House officials were telling congressional aides that Abdulmutallab’s ticket was round-trip; Rotella didn’t immediately respond to a follow-up question.) In this case, the distinction may not matter much; the result was that a story with the correct information in its headline was published by a major newspaper and picked up by major aggregators. But to really get that river flowing in the right direction, a new mindset might help. Refutation can be news, too.
We don’t need profiling to identify Individuals like the Christmas-Day Bomber!
Virtually all media outlets are discussing whether we should be profiling all Arab Muslims; I will in the one-page explain why we don’t need profiling. Over 15 years ago, we at the Center for Aggression Management developed an easily-applied, measurable and culturally-neutral body language and behavior indicators exhibited by people who intend to perpetrate a terrorist act. This unique methodology utilizes proven research from the fields of psychology, medicine and law enforcement which, when joined together, identify clear, easily-used physiologically-based characteristics of individuals who are about to engage in terrorist activities in time to prevent their Moment of Commitment.
The Problem
Since the foiled terrorist attack by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian national on Northwest Flight 253 to Detroit, the President has repeatedly stated that there has been a systemic failure as he reiterates his commitment to fill this gap in our security. This incident, like the Fort Hood shooting, exemplifies why our government must apply every valid preventative approach to identify a potential terrorist.
The myriad methods to identify a terrorist, whether “no-fly list,” “explosive and weapons detection,” mental illness based approaches, “profiling” or “deception detection” - all continue to fail us. Furthermore, the development of deception detection training at Boston Logan Airport demonstrated that the Israeli methods of interrogation will not work in the United States.
All media outlets are discussing the need for profiling of Muslim Arabs, but profiling does not work for the following three reasons:
1. In practice, ethnic profiling tells us that within a certain group of people there is a higher probability for a terrorist; it does not tell us who the next terrorist is!
2. Ethnic profiling is contrary to the value our society places on diversity and freedom from discrimination based on racial, ethnic, religious, age and/or gender based criteria. If we use profiling it will diminish our position among the majority of affected citizens who support us as a beacon of freedom and liberty.
3. By narrowing our field of vision, profiling can lead to the consequence of letting terrorists go undetected, because the terrorist may not be part of any known “profile worthy” group – e.g., the Oklahoma City bomber, Timothy McVeigh
The Solution
Our unique methodology for screening passengers can easily discern (independently of race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, age, and gender) the defining characteristics of human beings who are about to engage in terrorist acts.
The question is when will our government use true “hostile intent” through the “continuum of aggressive behavior” to identify potential terrorists? Only when observers focus specifically on “aggressive behavior” do the objective and culturally neutral signs of “aggression” clearly stand out, providing the opportunity to prevent these violent encounters. This method will not only make all citizens safer, but will also pass the inevitable test of legal defensibility given probable action by the ACLU.
As our Government analyzes what went wrong regarding Abdulmatallab’s entrance into the United States, you can be assured that Al Qaeda is also analyzing how their plans went wrong. Who do you think will figure it out first . . . ?
Visit our blog at http://blog.AggressionManagement.com where we discuss the shooting at Fort Hood and the attempted terrorist act on Flight 253.
#1 Posted by John Byrnes, CJR on Sat 16 Jan 2010 at 07:30 AM
It figures that MSNBC started the misinformation, and it figures that the "professional journalists" of the dwindling newspapers regurgitated it in unison.
Example #3,953,538 of the laziness and inepitude that pervades the newsrooms of the Dead Tree media.
#2 Posted by padikiller, CJR on Mon 18 Jan 2010 at 10:37 PM