Adam Taylor, Washington Post: The Islamic State routinely shares gruesome images of those it kills. But governments do it, too.
The Islamic State has shown time and time again that it is willing to both document its acts of extreme violence and then share these acts on social media. This tactic appears to serve a dual purpose: While these gruesome images anger and disgust much of the world, they also excite and entice the extremist group's online "fanboys" to action.
However, the Islamic State does not have a monopoly on using social media to share scenes of violence. Right now, there's plenty of violence going on in the world, and anyone with a) a smart phone or camera, b) Internet access and c) a social media account can share it.
That extends to government forces too.
WNU Editor: Social media has changed the propaganda war completely .... everyone can now videotaped an atrocity and have it go viral to a global audience literally within minutes. But the problem is that as we become accustomed to one atrocity, to attract our attention these groups will need to increase the "horror factor" even more. I can only imagine what will be broadcast/posted in the next year or two.
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