Defining Mass Media’s Threats to National Security

Solomon Samuel Gonina, Linus Mun Ngantem, Kyermun Samuel Dapiya

Abstract


Violence is escalating rapidly, impacting on local communities, sparking dissensions and eventually, further tensions. The mass media, despite being a potent instrument to fighting terrorism and insecurity, also pose their own kind of challenges to national security, given that the mass media themselves sometimes are a form of threat to the security of nations and their peoples. Hinged on the Boomerang Effect theory, this study uses the Narrative Analysis methodology to discuss the role mass media play in the business of human security versus national security. It identifies espionage, propaganda, cultural imperialism, regulatory concerns, editorial manipulations, as well as the Internet as some of the threats. Terrorist groups including Islamic State in Syril, Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA), Boko Haram, Hamas and al-Qaeda use mediatised gadgets, e-mails and encryptions to support their operations. It is therefore recommended that media professionals must ensure systems protection and adequate regulation as well as adhere to their codes of ethics to ensure that they carry out their responsibilities for the ultimate good of society.


Keywords


Mass Media; Terrorism; National Security; Information Technology; Interdependence

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/11700

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