The Art of Selling Terror

By Zubair Ahmed Hayat

Fear. Did you know that you could sell it? Well according to the news corporations today, this is their most valuable asset. Using fear to dominate the headlines has become a popular theme because terror makes newspaper fly off the shelves. Fear of the unknown is driving the modern man to irrational thoughts and ideologies, which is causing us to live in realm of paranoia. This is not a new phenomenon but the new uses of social media have made the issue worse and we are bombarded by negative views from every angle to be afraid of the unknown. Very afraid!

The ability of the media to prey upon the concerns of the general public is an ability that has been sharpened over the decades. News outlets understand that the average Joe has no clue about the true impact of ISIS is or the real understanding of Ebola, so they sensationalise it to a point where it becomes mass hysteria. Every reader of the daily news whether on TV, laptops, smart phones or newspapers has an interest in the wider world, which seems to be more accessible than ever before. 

The global village that we now live in is complex but news corporations play on this to confuse and disorientate the public. Every time there is a crisis in the news there is no clear message on what the truth is and this has lead to people becoming less trusting of the media but also more reliant on it. This need to understand the world around us leads so many to believe these exaggerated stories with plot twists and skewed information based on a particular agenda of those in power.

The media has been monopolised by a few corporations, which push a particular message whether it is about an outbreak disease, religious fundamentalist group or the next president of the United States. In all these global issues they strike fear into the hearts of those watching, reading and listening. This showering of negativity and suspicion will penetrate the mind of those listening no matter how much you try to resist. The public cannot access the information from any other source so they cling to their TV screens waiting for the BBC to ‘enlighten’ them on the most pressing issues of the world today. This is extremely dangerous and although news reports and those in the media seem to be an authority to listen to, they are being fed one sided reports and do not care about its impact.

Many of us do not realise there is a big business behind the headline, a billion dollar business! The media is run on popularity and ratings so their main concern is staying afloat, not about showing reality or depicting a true picture of the world to the audience. The public feel that “If I do not buy, think this way, vote this way, etc, then consequences will ensue. Like news media though, advertising fear appeals use negativity to boost their income, popularity, and ratings. A threat to one’s well-being creates a situation in which the individual has no choice but to make the decision most helpful to them. This gives the advertiser, news, or corporation complete control (Williams, 2012).

When there is a global issue the media pounces on it and tries to grow it into a monster, which has enough weight to frighten the world. This has been done on countless occasions and every few months a new monster appears and forced upon us so that we doubt everything we think we know. We begin to doubt ourselves, our neighbours, the government and even our families because of what we read in the newspapers. It becomes a vicious cycle because the more you fear the more you need reassurance and validation from the media that your fears are justified. There are so many occasions where people are told that certain areas, cultures, religions and people are bad and when they experience it for themselves they are shocked by the difference in what the reality is what they been fed from birth through the media.

The issue of using fear to gain readership and viewers is so rampant and blatant that even the huge news outlets such as ABC have said; “We at ABC are as guilty as any other media outlet of rushing out to cover every new threat that arises. And the reason we scare people is simple…. For broadcast media, eyeballs equal ratings. For politicians, eyeballs equal votes. For activists, eyeballs equal support for their causes. For corporations, eyeballs equal sales. The bottom line: Worry and fear sell.” (Stossel & Jaquez, 2007)

Be honest to yourself, would you be more interested reading about how much an inner city immigrant youth has raised for charity or of how immigrants are destroying our country and taking all our jobs? Unfortunately the human mind is subconsciously being conditioned to be drawn to fears and seek out the negative in life for entertainment. Reading about the good in people does not stimulate the senses as much as highlighting evil and wondering what is out to get you.

An outstanding example of this fear being sold in the media was when I travelled to America last year and came across a mosque where there was a shooting in 2015. At the Ahmadiyya Mosque there was an incident where a former Marine, Ted Hakey, shot 30 bullets at the place of worship in the night and was subsequently sent to prison.

This was disturbing to hear but even more unnerving was the interview he did after being released from prison. Before shooting at the Mosque he was angered at the Paris terror attacks, which we all were, but social media was riling him up and he was seeing headlines about how Islam teaches terrorism and all Muslims are terrorists. After learning this online he then attacked a moderate Muslim Mosque, which actually denounced terror in all forms. “What you see on social media sites,” Hakey said. “That was my education of Islam.”

After the shooting he had a chance to meet the leaders of the Mosque where he realised their peaceful teachings and immediately apologised and now helps them spread the true Islam to Americans in the area. Ironically the religious leaders in the area pleaded with the Judge to lighten his sentence because of his remorse and also gave him a Holy Quran to read. So if a man can be driven to shoot a peaceful religious place of worship which could have murdered any children or women present because of the influence of social media then we have a serious problem and the media has a huge responsibility to stop spreading fear and reporting on the truth even if it does not sell as well as terror!

References:

Stossel , J., & Jaquez, N. D. (2007, April 28). The ‘fear industrial complex’. Retrieved from

http://abcnews.go.com/m/story?id=2898636

Williams, K. C. (2012). Improving fear appeal ethics. Journal of Academic and Business Ethics, 5, 1-24. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1011485663?accountid=458