NEW YORK (AP) — A Manhattan software developer was arrested and charged Tuesday with damaging the license plate covers on two SUVs belonging to a Secret Service detail assigned to Vice President Kamala Harris’ stepdaughter.
The far right are crazy, but this incident doesn’t seem to be political or targeted towards Harris’ step daughter.
I know. I’m speaking in general terms. I’ve seen this happen my whole life. It’s a general criticism of the media, not this particular incident or media outlet. They know this woman just became a target of far-right hate groups. They know at least one person already has tried to do something. And don’t get me wrong – they can and should report on those things as they happen. But just leave the picture out. Her picture did exactly nothing to contribute to the information in that article. And yes, her picture can probably be easily found in other places. But let them look for it. Don’t just hand it to them. Don’t just make these whack-jobs’ jobs that much easier by plastering her picture all over the web page. It’s a variant of the Streisand Effect, when you think about it.
“See this woman? The one in the picture with the brown, curly hair and glasses that lives in the middle of NYC? This woman, who comes from new york and has brown curly hair and glasses is in danger of being killed by right-wing extremists. We certainly hope that nothing happens to this woman from New York with the brown curly hair and glasses who drives a red Dodge with the licence plate of NYC-123.”
Exaggerated for hyperbole sake, but I’m sure you get the idea. Sometimes the media can be a little too free-wheeling with details and can just end up making the problem worse.
I know. I’m speaking in general terms. I’ve seen this happen my whole life. It’s a general criticism of the media, not this particular incident or media outlet. They know this woman just became a target of far-right hate groups. They know at least one person already has tried to do something. And don’t get me wrong – they can and should report on those things as they happen. But just leave the picture out. Her picture did exactly nothing to contribute to the information in that article. And yes, her picture can probably be easily found in other places. But let them look for it. Don’t just hand it to them. Don’t just make these whack-jobs’ jobs that much easier by plastering her picture all over the web page. It’s a variant of the Streisand Effect, when you think about it.
“See this woman? The one in the picture with the brown, curly hair and glasses that lives in the middle of NYC? This woman, who comes from new york and has brown curly hair and glasses is in danger of being killed by right-wing extremists. We certainly hope that nothing happens to this woman from New York with the brown curly hair and glasses who drives a red Dodge with the licence plate of NYC-123.”
Exaggerated for hyperbole sake, but I’m sure you get the idea. Sometimes the media can be a little too free-wheeling with details and can just end up making the problem worse.