Quote:
Originally Posted by Osem
These migrants have made their way to their host countries having made full use of the internet and social media to spread information about routes, border problems, sources of assistance etc. etc. Although they may be separated now, they all still have access to their 'networks' and so I'm sure the word spread in just the same way. Was is some planned, hostile act? I don't think so but I'd say that groups of bored, frustrated, drunk and even angry young men may well have thought it seemed like a good idea at the time and word spread to other groups elsewhere.
When things go pear shaped you can bet these very same mechanisms are and will be used to spread information. These people know full well that their strength is in organised numbers so I'm sure more of this co-ordinated behaviour will follow when, for example, police action is taken or deportations authorised.
We've seen similar use of social media in the UK during various riots and demonstrations.
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I haven't heard of young men using these tools to coordinate sexual assaults though. What would be the benefit of them for that? Maybe it was that they heard one group doing and so all meet in the largest cities near them to do the same but that is a odd amount of planning.
How long would it take for the word to speard? I mean they can't all be networked. If we, the British, were fleeing somewhere how many of us would be able to contact each other to coordinate large scale meet ups so quickly?
I can't believe the same type of attacks across Europe happened organically. There has to be something we're missing.
I think first we need to see if the attacks are linked/the same first and that what would otherwise be the normal level of crime are not being chalked up to what happened in Cologne.