Ten “Rs” of Social Reaction: Using Social Media to Analyse the “Post-Event” Impacts of the Murder of Lee Rigby

Abstract

This article provides a case study analysis of social reactions to the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby in 2013. Informed by empirical data collected by systematic monitoring of social media platforms, the analysis identifies a number of online behaviours with offline effects-labeled the ten "Rs"-that collectively constitute the process of social reaction to the crime. These are defined as: reporting; requesting; responding; recruiting; "risking"; retaliating; rumouring; remembering; reheating; and "resiliencing". It is argued that the ability to observe these behaviours through the application of qualitative social media analysis has considerable potential. Conceptually, the analysis provides new insight into the complex and chaotic processes of sense-making and meaning attribution that arise in the aftermath of terrorist attacks. It illuminates how patterns of social reaction on social media are nuanced and complicated, with different segments of the public interpreting the same developments very differently. In addition, the findings and the conceptual framework outlined have implications for policy and practice development in terms of establishing a more effective and evidence-based approach to the consequence management of "post-event" conflict dynamics and social reactions.

Techniques of disinformation: Constructing and communicating “soft facts” after terrorism

“…As they were shown to be false, people refined and revised their understandings. This is coherent with the general tenor of research about what happens in the minutes and hours after a terror attack, where understandings are highly contingent and uncertain (Innes, Roberts, Preece, & Rogers, ).…”

After Woolwich: Analyzing Open Source Communications to Understand the Interactive and Multi-polar Dynamics of the Arc of Conflict

“…McEnery et al (2015) use the same case to explore interactions between National Press and social media, inding the former play an important role in steering and guiding the content of the latter in the aftermaths of atrocity events. Most recently, Innes et al (2016) have conducted a detailed analysis of social media data collected in the 12 months following the murder of Fusilier Rigby, to distil a new framework for analyzing processes of social reaction.…”

Sentinel: A Codesigned Platform for Semantic Enrichment of Social Media Streams

“…Findings from the analysis of the tranche of tweets gathered in the first 24 h of the incident highlighted policing issues posed by such highly public crimes regarding the permeability of crime scenes. In terms of the leakage of information in the era of social media, the police are no longer able to effectively seal a crime scene where key eyewitnesses are live-tweeting events [25]. Similar observations have been made on relation to other crimes such as the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013.…”

“…Analysis of this data set, which totaled over 35 M tweets at the end of the collection period, is still ongoing. Social science findings to date have been reported in [25]- [27]. The aftermath of the crime, social media reports appeared across the U.K. concerning hate crimes targeted toward individuals and religious buildings.…”