When Viral Videos Mislead the Public
The fine line between truth and sensation in viral videos
If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many words is a video worth?
In mid-July, an incident took place at the Manchester (U.K.) airport that blew up into a viral news story. A day after an altercation and the police response to it occurred at the airport, video footage showing the event was released online and in the news. The video clip that was shared focused specifically on a police officer kicking an unarmed person in the head, repeatedly. There was a huge public outcry and protests followed in the city of Manchester.
But did that video show the whole story?
The story is still developing
Although news stories are still being published about this story and new details seem to emerge daily, the story started on July 23, when “police said they were called to an ‘altercation’ between members of the public in Terminal two” of the Manchester airport.
According to those earliest reports, police responded to the situation and, in the course of their response, used their tasers on individuals and were also recorded kicking a man in the head.
