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September 18th, 2006 - Bloody Web
Videos Show Horrors of War |
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Bloody Web Videos Show
Horrors of War Graphic and Disturbing Images of Life on Battlefield Appearing on
Popular Web Sites By Jonathan Silverstein ABC News Sept. 18, 2006 War is hell. But you might
never know it from watching your nightly news or picking up the morning
paper. If you really want to see
how violent, disturbing and outright terrifying war can be, all you need to
do is log on to the Internet and stop by any of the Web's many community
video sites such as YouTube, Ogrish or Google Video. Armchair generals, current,
former and wannabe military service people, jihadists, snuff seekers, the
curious and the political are all posting and watching both tame and graphic
videos or life on the battlefield. "Mainstream media has
traditionally constrained themselves or have been constrained from showing
really graphic images," said Brian Marcus, director of Internet
monitoring for the Anti-Defamation League. "Now there's technology out
there that's made things so easy - anyone carrying a cell phone these days
can take a picture or a video and post it on the Internet and within minutes
it can be viewed all over the world." The Internet gives anyone
with a computer the ability to speak to the world, but that power cuts both
ways. It gives users the power to choose how to supplement the news they get
from their TV or newspaper, but it also acts as a soapbox for propagandists
to spread hate, fear or just confusion. War on the Web For the U.S Department of
Defense every day presents a new challenge. With U.S. military power
spread thinly across Iraq and Afghanistan, and the war in Iraq becoming less
popular, a new warfront on the Internet is an unwelcome addition to a war
that already has too many fronts. As insurgents and terror
groups seek public sympathy and try to exploit more advanced methods of
warfare and recruitment, videos of attacks on U.S. troops, hostage beheadings
and worse popped up all over the Web. "We are aware that this
stuff is out there. We know the enemy is going to try to put propaganda out
there," said Capt. Rebecca Goodrich, a spokeswoman for the DOD. "As
the Secretary [of Defense] has said, we just need to make the public aware
that this is out there and that they're [the enemy] trying to manipulate the
media." Though aware of the
existence of jihadist propaganda on the Internet, and even with the
assistance of many site owners and operators in bringing much down, Web sites
that allow their visitors to anonymously post videos leave the government
relatively helpless in defending itself against them. Though it's virtually
impossible for the layman to differentiate between what is surreptitious
propaganda and what could just be a compilation of news footage strung
together by a teenager in Cleveland, there are hundreds of such videos
circulating the Net, and more are posted every day. Many of those videos are not
for the faint of heart. Images of beatings, shooting, explosions and other
battlefield horrors thankfully beyond the imagination of the average citizen
are accessible with just a click or two of a mouse. But who would want to view
such disturbing material and why? Disturbing but Necessary? "We simply offer people
the option of seeing what really goes on in these places," said Hayden
Hewitt, co-owner of Ogrish.com, a site known for its explicit videos.
"We don't think it should be compulsory in any way, but people should
certainly have the ability of seeing the true scope of war and how horrific
it really is." At Ogrish.com expect to see
war in its rawest form. The site does not shy away from posting even the most
explicit and disturbing videos and makes no distinction between what side the
victim - or victims - may have been on. To Hewitt, it's about honesty. "It is right to operate
without any bias and show the simple, brutal, truth no matter how upsetting
or offensive it might be," he explained. "It is wrong to try and
brush things under the rug in order to convince your countrymen a war is
something other than it is." During the Vietnam War, TV
journalists were credited with turning the tide of support back home by
showing the realities of what was happening in the jungle in Southeast Asia
on the news every night. Images of young American men suffering and dying on
TV every day caused some to second guess the U.S. strategy there. Many believe, though, that
sites like Ogrish don't simply report the news but instead appeal to the most
salacious of appetites, calling the videos that appear on such sites as
"snuff" or "war porn." "Part of me understands
that this is the other side of the wart, and you run the risk of having an
antiseptic view if you're not exposed to that," said Ward Carroll,
editor in chief of Military.com who was a Navy pilot for 20 years. Carroll admits that Military.com
is a pro-American site that serves U.S. military men and women. But he said
that's not to say that he thinks sites like Ogrish.com or others like it are
un-American. He said it is important for
people to have choices and therefore doesn't oppose the existence of such
sites and videos. Carroll said that in a democracy it's the responsibility of
every citizen to be informed and the many viewpoints the Internet offers make
that easier. "These days with the
Internet, if you want to be informed, if you really care as a consumer of
media, there are lots of places to go to be informed," he said. Copyright © 2006 ABC News
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