Editors of the UK’s media urged to form partnerships

Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu has told the Society of Editor’s Annual Conference that editors of the UK’s media should help build partnerships which can reduce the threat of terrorism to the UK.

The head of Counter Terrorism Policing told media industry representatives that he wants to emulate the relationship they have with the Samaritans in reporting suicide – an approach he believes could prevent media coverage of terrorism from inadvertently amplifying the threat.

Basu published an open letter to the UK media after the Christchurch attack earlier this year encouraging them to take greater care in the reporting of terrorism, in part influenced by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s decision not to publicise the name of the attacker.

Samaritans and the World Health Organisation report substantial evidence showing the links between the media depiction of suicide and the spread of the behaviour among vulnerable people – known as suicide contagion.

Basu said: “The risk of influencing suicides significantly increases if reports include descriptions of suicide methods; if the story is placed prominently, and if the coverage is extensive or sensationalised. The positive relationship between Samaritans campaigners and the media has helped shape how suicide is reported and has almost certainly saved lives.

“If reporting can be seen through this lens for suicide, then why not for terrorism? Yes they are different phenomena, but if the evidence suggests that a person vulnerable to suicidal thoughts can be motivated to act by the over-identification with a celebrity suicide, then could a person vulnerable to radicalisation be triggered to act by the style of media reports describing terrorism?”

Basu has also asked The Royal United Services Institute to analyse academic research into social contagion theory and test the concept that media reporting of terrorist events could encourage the spread of behaviour among like-minded individuals.