This is your brain on terrorism
Summary
TLDRThe video script explores how sensationalized media coverage of terrorism can distort public perception of risk, leading to fear and support for ineffective 'security theater' measures. It discusses the psychological impact of news stories versus statistics on our brains, the persistent fear post-9/11 despite the low actual risk of terrorism, and the economic incentives for media to continue dramatic coverage. The script suggests that understanding our cognitive biases and being skeptical of our fears is key to better assessing risk and supporting effective security strategies.
Takeaways
- 📺 Watching news coverage of terrorist attacks can be addictive and stressful.
- 📉 Our brains prioritize stories over statistics, leading to skewed perceptions of risk.
- 🦈 Frequent news stories about rare events, like shark attacks or plane crashes, make them seem more common than they are.
- 💡 Terrorism poses a very low risk to individuals compared to other dangers, but media coverage inflates our fears.
- 📈 Fear of terrorism remains high due to constant sensational news coverage, despite a lack of frequent large-scale attacks.
- 🎭 Security measures that look effective, like border walls and travel bans, are often just 'security theater' and don't enhance safety.
- 🔎 Effective security strategies involve espionage, intelligence, and emergency response, which are less visible and less sensational.
- 📰 Media outlets benefit from high ratings during terror attacks and have no incentive to reduce sensationalism.
- ⚖️ Politicians face pressure to implement dramatic security measures due to the heightened public fear driven by media coverage.
- 🧠 Being aware of how our brains misjudge risks can help us correct our perceptions and make better decisions about safety.
Q & A
What is the common reaction of people when they hear about a major terrorist attack?
-People are likely to turn on the TV, particularly cable news, to get updates and watch hours of coverage to understand the situation better.
Why do news channels repeatedly show sensationalized segments about terrorist attacks?
-News channels do this to attract viewership and ratings, as sensational stories are more likely to keep people watching.
What does Bruce Schneier suggest about how our brains react to scary news?
-Bruce Schneier suggests that our brains are more influenced by stories than statistics, leading us to overestimate the risk of events that are frequently in the news.
How does the media's portrayal of terrorism affect the public's perception of risk?
-The media's portrayal of terrorism can make the public overestimate the risk of such events, leading to heightened fear and potentially irrational responses.
What is the actual risk of dying from terrorism compared to other causes?
-The risk of dying from terrorism is extremely low compared to other causes, such as choking on food while watching TV.
Why do people continue to watch terrorism coverage despite the fear it induces?
-People watch terrorism coverage because they want to stay informed about potential threats to their safety, even though it can cause fear and anxiety.
What is the term Bruce Schneier uses to describe security measures that look good but do not actually increase safety?
-Bruce Schneier uses the term 'security theater' to describe measures that seem to increase security but are ineffective in reality.
How does the fear of terrorism influence political decisions and public policy?
-The fear of terrorism can lead to the support of hawkish responses and security measures that may not be effective, but seem to provide a sense of safety.
What are some examples of 'security theater' mentioned in the script?
-Examples of 'security theater' include the border wall and the Muslim ban, which are public and visible but may not actually increase safety.
Why does sensationalist terrorism coverage make it difficult for politicians to resist implementing security theater?
-Sensationalist coverage amplifies public fear, putting pressure on politicians to take visible actions that seem to address the threat, even if they are not effective.
What is the best defense against the psychological impact of sensationalist terrorism coverage?
-The best defense is understanding the biases in our perception of risk and being skeptical of our fears, politicians, and the media's portrayal of threats.
Outlines
📺 The Impact of Terrorism News Coverage
This paragraph discusses the typical public reaction to news of a terrorist attack, highlighting how people tend to turn to cable news for extended coverage. The detailed reporting on such incidents can lead to heightened fear and anxiety, even though the actual risk of terrorism is low. The paragraph underscores that news consumption shapes our perception of threats more than statistical realities.
🔍 How Sensational News Affects Perception
This section explains how our brains prioritize stories over statistics, leading to misjudged perceptions of risk. It cites security expert Bruce Schneier, who explains that repeated exposure to sensational news stories causes people to overestimate the frequency and severity of rare events like terrorism, despite the actual low probability of such events occurring.
📈 The Discrepancy Between Fear and Reality
Here, the script delves into the lasting impact of 9/11 on American fear levels, noting that despite the lack of subsequent large-scale attacks, fear remains high due to continuous, graphic news coverage. The paragraph highlights how this skewed perception is perpetuated by media, which benefits from increased viewership during terror-related news cycles.
📊 The Real Risk of Terrorism vs. Media Hype
This part examines how media coverage contributes to an exaggerated perception of terrorism risks. It points out that the actual likelihood of dying in a terrorist attack is extremely low compared to other everyday risks. The continuous focus on terrorism in the news creates a false sense of its prevalence and danger.
📉 The Effect of Terrorism Fear on Public Policy
This segment explores how heightened fear of terrorism influences public policy and political responses. It discusses the concept of 'security theater,' where measures that appear to enhance security are implemented more for show than for actual effectiveness. Examples include policies like the border wall and the Muslim ban, which are popular but do little to improve safety.
🤔 Rethinking Our Response to Terrorism
The paragraph suggests that effective security measures are often less dramatic and more focused on intelligence and emergency response rather than public spectacles. It highlights the difficulty politicians face in resisting 'security theater' due to the pressure from sensationalist news coverage and public fear.
🧠 Understanding and Managing Our Fears
This section advises that while it's unrealistic to stop watching the news, being aware of our cognitive biases can help mitigate irrational fears. It encourages a critical approach to media consumption and a better understanding of how our brains process risk.
📉 The Realities of Terrorism Risk Perception
In this conclusion, the script reiterates that terrorism coverage in the media can distort public perception, leading to overreactions and support for ineffective security measures. It emphasizes the importance of skepticism towards fear-inducing news and the value of focusing on practical safety strategies.
😂 Media Blunders: A Humorous Example
This final paragraph provides a humorous example of media overreaction, describing an incident where CNN mistakenly reported an ISIS flag at a London Gay Pride celebration, which turned out to be a flag adorned with sex toys. It illustrates the potential for media to sensationalize and misinterpret events.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Terrorist Attack
💡Cable News
💡Fear
💡Security Theater
💡Risk Perception
💡Statistics vs. Stories
💡Sensationalism
💡Media Consumption
💡Hawkish Responses
💡Perception of Safety
Highlights
Chances are you'll turn on a TV after hearing about a major terrorist attack, especially cable news.
You'll watch hours of coverage over the next few days to find out exactly what's going on.
Watching this coverage makes you feel scared, stressed, and anxious.
Most people find terrorism coverage almost impossible to turn off.
Our brains care more about stories than statistics, causing us to overestimate risks based on news frequency.
The chances of dying from terrorism are virtually zero compared to other common risks.
Despite the low risk, constant news coverage keeps our fear of terrorism high.
News networks get big ratings boosts during terror attacks, incentivizing extensive coverage.
The economics of news drive sensational and scary stories to maintain viewership.
Terrorism made up two of America's top 10 fears in 2016, influenced by media coverage.
Heightened fear of terrorism leads to support for hawkish responses and ineffective security measures.
Security theater, like the border wall and Muslim ban, looks good but doesn't make us safer.
Effective safety strategies are often boring and don't make a splash, like espionage and intelligence.
Sensationalist coverage makes it hard for politicians to say no to security theater.
Understanding our brain's biases and skepticism towards media can help us process risks more accurately.
Transcripts
what will you do the next time you hear
there's been a major terrorist
attack chances are you'll turn on a TV
possible terror attack and specifically
cable news and apparently there's been
an explosion if it's a big attack you'll
watch hours of coverage over the next
few days is emerging now as a mass
casualty situation TR to find out
exactly what's going on it's a very
disturbing situation you'll learn
excruciating details about the attack we
don't know the extent of the injuries
haven't seen anything like it in my life
see of it replayed dozens of
times watch sensationalized segments
about how it happens what our response
should be we need to close our borders
and when the next attack might come this
kind of tragedy will not be the last one
of its kind watching this will make you
feel scared stressed and anxious could
the US be next but you'll keep watching
anyway most people find terrorism
coverage almost impossible to turn off
we watch news like this because we want
to be informed about potential threats
to our safety could what happened in
Paris
happen in the US but what if it does the
opposite what if watching terrorism
coverage makes us worse at knowing how
to keep ourselves
[Music]
safe one basic problem with how we
understand scary news is that our brains
care a lot more about stories than they
do about statistics we're not very good
at math so we often judge the severity
of a risk by how often we encounter it
that's Bruce schneer he's a security
expert who's written a lot of about why
our brains overreact to scary news
stories and those stories stick to us
more than the data does so we make risk
decisions more based on the stories than
a reality so if we see a bunch of
stories about shark attacks we think
shark attacks are common if we see a
story about a plane crash we will
overestimate the risks of flying we
don't do this because we're dumb it's a
basic psychology problem news by
definition is something that almost
never happens but that's not the way our
brains work if it's in the news if it's
talked about if we hear about it a lot
we confuse that with it being common and
you can see this problem most clearly
when it comes to terrorism the chances
of you or someone you know dying from
terrorism are virtually zero terrorism
looks scary but it kills a shockingly
low number of Americans you are way less
likely to die from terrorism than you
are from choking on food while watching
TV that being said after 9/11 Americans
consumed a ton of extreme shocking news
coverage about
and our fear that we would be killed by
terrorists spiked now You' think as time
went on and we went years without
another 911 that our fears of terrorism
would go down the same way they went
down after the Oklahoma City bombing for
example but they didn't we stayed scared
and you only need to turn on cable news
to understand why Terror in the streets
of Paris we have not ruled out terrorism
digital terrorism homegrown terrorists
TV news is packed with round-the-clock
coverage of the war on terror footage of
Isis training exercises a violent new
Isis video and endless debates about
potential threats posed by refugees and
sleeper cells and homegrown radicals
soall Lone Wolf threats lone wol lone
wolf when there is a terrorist attack
near or far cable news turns into
24-hour Terror networks the fear of
Terror attacks as many people wondering
if their country even their city is next
news networks get big ratings boost
during Terror attacks so they have no
incentive to tone down their coverage
this is the economics of news the way
you get that readership and viewership
is by being spectacular going with the
stories that are scary that are
threatening that are terrifying every
year MSNBC re-airs footage of the 911
attack so we never forget it's hard to
watch this stuff and not feel like
terrorism is a constant looming threat
the reign of terror shows no signs of
abating which helps explain why
terrorism made up two of American top 10
fears in 2016 our heightened fear isn't
due to a change in Risk it's due to a
change in our perception of that risk
how quick quickly we can hear the word
terrorism and imagine a scary story
about it in our heads and that
heightened fear causes us to overreact a
study conducted after 9911 found that
for people who thought another terror
attack was imminent watching TV news
made them more likely to support hawkish
responses to terrorism including things
like military action shock and it also
causes us to pursue security measures
that sound good but don't actually make
us safer and schne invented a term for
it he calls it security theater security
theater is a security measure that looks
good but doesn't do anything schneer
sees examples of security theater in
things like the border wall and the
Muslim ban the things that Trump has
made centerpieces of his National
Security strategy we've been talking
about this right from the beginning all
the efforts to keep the foreigners out
of the US are prime example of security
theater they're not going to make us
safer but they're big they're public and
there's a segment of the United States
that is scared and sees those things and
feels safer it's not just that these
strategies don't work it's is that
they're the opposite of the types of
strategies that actually do make us
safer if we actually want to be safer
often the best things to do are the
things that don't make a splash it's
going to be Espionage intelligence and
emergency response hiring foreign
translators this is boring stuff the
problem is the same sensationalist
coverage that makes us overestimate the
risk of Terror makes it really hard for
politicians to say no to security
theater do you think President Obama
fully understands the extent of the
threat when CNN is a 24-hour Horror
Story there's a lot of pressure on the
president to overreact are we doing
enough to to stop these kinds of attacks
and this helps explain why Trump's
security theater is so popular with his
supporters he Echoes the fear and panic
they see on cable news it's going to get
worse and worse you're going to have
more World Trade Centers when you're
scared you're going to be drawn to the
politician that does things that are big
that are public that are spectacular
invade a country build a wall now when I
started writing this episode I was sure
that Schneider's answer was going to be
to stop watching but I was wrong of
course we all have to watch the news we
can't turn away I couldn't Force someone
to do that I can have trouble doing that
myself well what then in some ways our
best defense is understanding what's
going on we can't stop our brains from
reacting the way they do all we can do
is observe it recognize that we have
these biases and try to correct for them
if I have one takeaway it's to
understand that your brain isn't
processing risk properly and the more
you can do that the safer you'll be I
know it's not a satisfying answer we
will almost certainly see another major
scary terrorist attack in our lifetime
one that dominates the news cycle and
fills our brain with extreme and violent
images we're going to hear pundits and
politicians calling for dramatic
response and we're going to feel very
very scared I even noticed myself
freaking out while researching clips for
this episode we are humans not machines
we can't just look at charts and data
and fix the part of our brain brains
that misjudges risk what we can do is
remember to be skeptical of our fears
our politicians and of the people on TV
for whom our terror is good
[Music]
business cable news's obsession with
scary terrorism coverage can backfire
pretty hilariously like in this CNN
segment from 2015 an unnerving sight
today at a London Gay Pride Celebration
an Isis flag only problem that is not an
Isis flag that is a bunch of
dildos
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