Humanity Hallows Issue 5 Out Now
Pick up your copy on campus or read online
By Daniel J Broadley
Last week, author and journalist Simon Jenkins appeared on Channel 4 News and lambasted the BBC for “opting with the terrorists.” He expressed an opinion that many people have felt for a while now, but that has been shut down with accusations of ‘ignoring’ or ‘downplaying’ terror attacks.
The truth is, the attack outside Parliament last week was not necessarily a terrorist attack. It was, as Jenkins puts it, a crime which has been hyped up with media sensationalism and cluttered up with politics and Islamic extremism.
It has been reported that the police have no evidence to suggest that 52-year-old Masood had any links to ISIS, or any other terrorist organisation, and was not radicalised whilst in prison in 2003. Although he did ‘take an interest’ in jihad, it is clear he was not at the command of any organisation.
Met Police’s Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, said: “His attack method appears to be based on low sophistication, low tech, low cost techniques copied from other attacks, and echo the rhetoric of IS leaders in terms of methodology and attacking police and civilians, but at this stage I have no evidence he discussed this with others.”
Nobody is suggesting that these incidents should not be reported on. It is, of course, front page news. But when the BBC runs this story for a week, non stop, do they not play into the hands of terrorists? Do they not desensitise us to the violence?
Terrorists organisations such as ISIS follow one purpose: to spread terror. If the media sensationalises these incidents to the point where they are themselves spreading terror, then the terrorists have won. Worse still, it may encourage other crazed jihadists to try the same.
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