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Use Social Media to Combat Terrorism - US News & World Reports
September 17, 2012
Mark Davis in his U.S. News and World Report blog examines a paradox in the wake of the explosion in the Muslim world over a marginal YouTube video:
“The United States, which invented social media, is now at the mercy of physical attack inspired by social media. What will it take for us to get into this game?”
One solution:
“Government processes are simply too brittle, labyrinthine, and slow-moving to achieve the quick and agile response we need to a social media crisis . . . What is needed is vivid, powerful, compelling, and funny media that only a private organization can produce, funded by U.S. corporations affected by international tension and a few patriotic big donors.
“It must be overseen by a board of governors drawn from the highest ranks of media, CEOs, diplomats and U.S. senators, and staffed by a mix of top-notch reputation and messaging experts who work hand-in-glove with area experts to get the nuances of these messages just right.
“It must work in a quick, rapid-fire tempo that no government agency can match. It must be allowed to make a few mistakes before getting it right. And it must do something that no government agency could ever do—deploy humor as a weapon to ridicule al Qaeda.
“This is not another good idea. It is a necessary project that must get underway now to protect the United States and our people.”
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