Paris Terror Attacks

The Paris terror attacks on November 13, 2015 followed weeks of news, and information spread to all parts of the world through media and social media. As the events unfolded, news stations scrambled for coverage reporting the facts in pieces. Social media sites also spread with #PrayForParis tributes and pictures, although sometimes misinforming the public. However, social media surpassed the boundaries of journalism and communication by using the pathos approach to stimulate emotion to all people around the world.

On the night of November 13 in Paris, France six simultaneous terror attacks occurred at the hands of the well-known terrorist organization: ISIS. Killing approximately 130 innocent people, and injuring several others, French President

Civilians in the afflicted areas took to social media to warn others of gunshots and bomb explosions creating an intense atmosphere of concern and panic. Once word spread many American news networks rushed for coverage by cooperating with their foreign departments and arranging travel plans for ground coverage. Many breaking news segments relied on foreign counterparts often gathering and reporting information piece by piece, sometimes without confirmation, and relying on social media accounts and eyewitnesses. The media outlets covering the events in Paris adopted a pathos approach in their reporting frequently recalling the earlier terrorist attack in January at the Charlie Hebdo offices. Many newspapers followed with headlines including words such as “carnage”, “terror”, and “massacre”. Much of the information presented by the news network was authentic and credible coming from sources within France and the government security branches, which included police and

Many people might have not really known the full details of the attack, but posted supportive messages with the hashtags that were trending to be in the know and seem to others as valid, credible, or vigilant of world news. This would explain to an extent why many false rumors and stories were trending in social media platforms, which could question the credibility and authenticity of the information on social media during terror attacks.

Social media allowed empathy to feelings of sadness and sympathy and gave many users the opportunity to add to trending topics of conversations through hashtags like #PeaceForParis and others mentioned before. Facebook turned on its ‘safety check’ feature to allow people in the affected areas alert their family and friends that they are safe. It also created a French flag photo filter for people to display as a show of support, but received backlash for being selective or just for the sake of being in the