By Jason Lim
A woman posted on the Seoul Bus Transportation Association website that she was riding on a crowded Bus #240 during afternoon rush hour. When the bus stopped at Konkuk University Subway Station bus stop, several people stepped off the bus through the rear door. According to the post a little girl who barely looked five had just gotten off the bus when the door closed on her Mom and the bus started moving. The Mom cried out in alarm to the bus driver to stop and let her off to join her daughter. Another rider near the front of the bus also relayed the situation to the bus driver, but he refused to stop until he got to the next bus stop, which was the entrance to Konkuk University. As the Mom hurriedly got off the bus to run back to her daughter who would have been waiting at the previous stop, the driver yelled harsh insults at the departing woman.
Understandably, this post went viral with a vengeance. If true, the bus driver exhibited an incredibly careless disregard for the wellbeing of a small child. Other posters who claimed to be witnesses from the same bus also chimed in with stories that corroborated the original post, adding to the outrage. The story was splashed across print and TV media news and was one of the most popular stories on the main internet portal sites. Someone started a petition to punish the bus driver and others formally requested the police to investigate the bus driver's actions.
Unfortunately, the story wasn't accurate. Both the police and Seoul Metropolitan City's investigations – through interviews and CCTV footage – showed that the bus driver was only made aware of the situation a full 10 seconds after the bus had already started and merged onto the center lane of a busy road. By that time, there was no way to let the Mom off safely mid-route. The bus driver decided to drive the 20 additional seconds to arrive at the next stop to let the Mom off. Further, it was reported that it was the Mom who cursed at the bus driver, not the other way around. Authorities decided that no charges or disciplinary actions were warranted.
The damage was already done. The bus driver, reeling from the social media attacks and calls for his punishment, wanted to take an extended leave of absence. The bus company reported that it managed to convince the bus driver to just take a few days off before coming back to work.
All this took place over three days. The original story was posted on September 11. It went viral and became news on September 12, at which time the police received formal request to start an investigation. After a day of investigations, Seoul and the police announced their findings on September 14.
Imagine that you are a victim of such a witch-hunt or online vigilantism. People who are social media savvy with their own digital footprint could push back against the narrative somewhat. However, those who are not as well-versed will be immediately overwhelmed and befuddled by all the vitriol coming their way from total strangers and accusations of serious crimes by the authorities.
It's pretty scary. And it's serious stuff with real-life consequences. But it's not new. Whether you call it cyber bullying, online vigilantism, fake news, etc., it's keyed off people's need to seek attention by being the bearer of fresh and sensational news.
Quoted by Inside Counsel, Andrew P. Bridges of Fenwick & West LLP says, "The internet has empowered anyone who wants to become a publisher and to develop an audience. Barriers to entry are extremely low, with no capital investment, previous reputation, reporting or editing resources, or advertising necessary. That has led to a profusion of information sources that compete for the public's attention. That competition has led to attention-getting activities such as teasing labels or headlines, provocative statements or images."
This is exactly what happened. It wasn't the initial poster. It was the people who shared the post and even posed as fellow witnesses to add to the narrative that fanned the flames. Then the news media fed off the sensational aspects of the story to truly make it go viral.
Except that the provocative nature of this story wasn't click-bait headlines or sexy photos of celebrities. The provocative element came from the story itself in that it struck at the heart of our communal norms. It allowed us to immediately empathize with the Mom and feel a corresponding anger at the bus driver. It was the opportunity to feel morally outraged that attracted us.
This is the danger of wanting to see things in black and white. In an integrated and complex world, there are very few areas – if any – that truly are black and white. This is profoundly unsatisfying. So when we see an opportunity to feel righteous indignation at what seems to be a clear-cut case of moral degeneracy or imminent threat, we pounce on it. Then we move on, leaving victims as roadkill of our misdirected outrage. No wonder we are suckers for fake news.
Jason Lim is a Washington, D.C.-based expert on innovation, leadership and organizational culture. He has been writing for The Korea Times since 2006. Reach him at jasonlim@msn.com, facebook.com/jasonlimkoreatimes or @jasonlim2012.
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A woman posted on the Seoul Bus Transportation Association website that she was riding on a crowded Bus #240 during afternoon rush hour. When the bus stopped at Konkuk University Subway Station bus stop, several people stepped off the bus through the rear door. According to the post a little girl who barely looked five had just gotten off the bus when the door closed on her Mom and the bus started moving. The Mom cried out in alarm to the bus driver to stop and let her off to join her daughter. Another rider near the front of the bus also relayed the situation to the bus driver, but he refused to stop until he got to the next bus stop, which was the entrance to Konkuk University. As the Mom hurriedly got off the bus to run back to her daughter who would have been waiting at the previous stop, the driver yelled harsh insults at the departing woman.
Understandably, this post went viral with a vengeance. If true, the bus driver exhibited an incredibly careless disregard for the wellbeing of a small child. Other posters who claimed to be witnesses from the same bus also chimed in with stories that corroborated the original post, adding to the outrage. The story was splashed across print and TV media news and was one of the most popular stories on the main internet portal sites. Someone started a petition to punish the bus driver and others formally requested the police to investigate the bus driver's actions.
Unfortunately, the story wasn't accurate. Both the police and Seoul Metropolitan City's investigations – through interviews and CCTV footage – showed that the bus driver was only made aware of the situation a full 10 seconds after the bus had already started and merged onto the center lane of a busy road. By that time, there was no way to let the Mom off safely mid-route. The bus driver decided to drive the 20 additional seconds to arrive at the next stop to let the Mom off. Further, it was reported that it was the Mom who cursed at the bus driver, not the other way around. Authorities decided that no charges or disciplinary actions were warranted.
The damage was already done. The bus driver, reeling from the social media attacks and calls for his punishment, wanted to take an extended leave of absence. The bus company reported that it managed to convince the bus driver to just take a few days off before coming back to work.
All this took place over three days. The original story was posted on September 11. It went viral and became news on September 12, at which time the police received formal request to start an investigation. After a day of investigations, Seoul and the police announced their findings on September 14.
Imagine that you are a victim of such a witch-hunt or online vigilantism. People who are social media savvy with their own digital footprint could push back against the narrative somewhat. However, those who are not as well-versed will be immediately overwhelmed and befuddled by all the vitriol coming their way from total strangers and accusations of serious crimes by the authorities.
It's pretty scary. And it's serious stuff with real-life consequences. But it's not new. Whether you call it cyber bullying, online vigilantism, fake news, etc., it's keyed off people's need to seek attention by being the bearer of fresh and sensational news.
Quoted by Inside Counsel, Andrew P. Bridges of Fenwick & West LLP says, "The internet has empowered anyone who wants to become a publisher and to develop an audience. Barriers to entry are extremely low, with no capital investment, previous reputation, reporting or editing resources, or advertising necessary. That has led to a profusion of information sources that compete for the public's attention. That competition has led to attention-getting activities such as teasing labels or headlines, provocative statements or images."
This is exactly what happened. It wasn't the initial poster. It was the people who shared the post and even posed as fellow witnesses to add to the narrative that fanned the flames. Then the news media fed off the sensational aspects of the story to truly make it go viral.
Except that the provocative nature of this story wasn't click-bait headlines or sexy photos of celebrities. The provocative element came from the story itself in that it struck at the heart of our communal norms. It allowed us to immediately empathize with the Mom and feel a corresponding anger at the bus driver. It was the opportunity to feel morally outraged that attracted us.
This is the danger of wanting to see things in black and white. In an integrated and complex world, there are very few areas – if any – that truly are black and white. This is profoundly unsatisfying. So when we see an opportunity to feel righteous indignation at what seems to be a clear-cut case of moral degeneracy or imminent threat, we pounce on it. Then we move on, leaving victims as roadkill of our misdirected outrage. No wonder we are suckers for fake news.
Jason Lim is a Washington, D.C.-based expert on innovation, leadership and organizational culture. He has been writing for The Korea Times since 2006. Reach him at jasonlim@msn.com, facebook.com/jasonlimkoreatimes or @jasonlim2012.
