Indian Government Asks Twitter Users to Cool Off in Mumbai
As of late, many of the biggest stories breaking in the world are being covered by social media users in real time using platforms like Twitter. The recent Chinese earthquake broke on Twitter about a half hour before the major mainstream news channels alerted us to this.
The recent terror attacks in Mumbai followed this model, with eyewitnesses reporting on the happenings before any news organizations were able to get any solid information. However, in situations like these, are there lines that social media users should not cross?
Amy Gahran at Poynter Media has an interesting post about the etiquitte of Tweeting such disasters where there are possible security risks about revealing information. In fact, the Indian government asked social media users to quit Tweeting about the terror attack.
Was this the right move? Did they ask cell phone users to cease from telling their friends and family about the attacks? To a large extent, Twitter’s newness is partly to blame for the government’s reaction. As social media becomes more a part of our lives (like cell phones), it’s usage will be more accepted.
That said, spreading unsubstantiated rumors that could be dangerous to people is poor form and should of course be avoided.
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