Chaos Spreads

Chaos Spreads

Summary:

The American writer of this article takes the case of 3 young bloggers, arrested for allegedly using their websites to incite violence, to examine how we receive news today.

In the past the media and governments used to control news output but, with the internet, this has now changed.

Not only did the young French bloggers use the net to send inflammatory messages, but the French interior minister also took out Google adverts to portray the rioters as violent rabble and to encourage ordinary citizens to support his policy of rigorous suppression of the riots.

The author uses a French example but points out that this is now a worldwide phenomenon. Anyone can set up a blog to send out political massages; anyone can use a mobile to broadcast news and pictures as they happen.

Because he believes in free speech, the author believes the new technology is a good thing, even if it is sometimes used to encourage violence and crime.

162 words


The main idea is that the way we receive news today has been transformed. In the past, news media and governments had some degree of control over what news was printed or broadcast. Today, however, with weblogs and mobile phones, people are creating and spreading news themselves.



Opinion:

I think the writer is correct to say that the new technology, specifically weblogs and mobile phones, is transforming the way we receive the news. I agree with the writer that the new technology is, overall, a good thing and I too believe in free speech. Obviously, however, it is bad when people use the new technology to incite riots and violence. Furthermore, if you access news sources online, it is difficult to avoid blogged comments on news stories. These blogs can be informative but I find they are often intrusive, grammatically flawed and, in short, irritating.