Columnist Clare Palo discusses social media trends, such as Facebook's Safety Check feature, in the wake of recent terror attacks.
This past week the world experienced the recent terror attacks through every digital medium possible. The horrific news unwittingly crashed into our lives, as it saturated our social media timelines and filtered in French colors through our Facebook profile photos.
Facebook released its Safety Check feature and well-known Facebook filter option in the wake of the Paris attacks. The site changes were controversial as it received heavy black lash from critics and immediate applause from many users.
The Safety Check feature, which was reactivated following the Paris attacks, allows Facebook users to check in on friends and family who may have been affected in their area by a disaster or in this case, a terror attack. The feature was previously used to alert people during natural disasters like the 2015 earthquake in Nepal, and was originally inspired by the 2011 Japan earthquake.
Critics scolded Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg for activating the feature for users affected by the Paris attacks, but not in other parts of the world such as Beirut, Mali or Syria.
Zuckerberg also faced disapproval for only allowing users to change their profile photos to the French flag filter and not flags of other countries that were attacked.
For many, the Facebook solidarity filter represented much more than blue, white and red colors scrawled across a selfie. It brought to light the possible political stances associated with the profile change.
President Obama also weighed in on the forceful impact of social media usage during the ISIS terror attack. He stated that the Islamic State is “a bunch of killers with good social media.”
"The most powerful tool that we have to fight ISIL is to say that we're not afraid," Obama said, notably using an alternate term for the terrorist group.
He encouraged the public "to not elevate them, to somehow buy into their fantasy that they're doing something important."
As companies like Facebook are adapting their social media tools to combat the terror attacks and bring solidarity to victims, it consequently creates a forum for more terrorist platforms.
The social media ramifications the terror attacks yielded are real, and they are important. It’s more than merely changing a profile photo or receiving a notification when your loved one is safe — it’s a weighted change in the social media spectrum.
Clare Palo is a senior studying journalism and digital content director for The Post. What do you think about Facebook's site changes following the attacks? Tweet her @clarepalo or email her at cp954211@ohio.edu.
