"Credibility questions
Chris Zambelis, a senior analyst specializing in the Middle East for Helios Global Inc., said there has not been a precedent in which social media — essentially citizen journalists, shooting and uploading what they are seeing — has been at the crux of a major foreign policy decision. He cautioned against placing too much stock in the videos and photos because it could be a false-flag attack. "I think it is one of those things where people are now taking stock of what happened," Mr. Zambelis said. In this case, he said social media are taking the place of snapshots and eyewitness accounts. "We have to look at this. Maybe step away from the fact that it came from social media and look at it in a different context," he said. "If this was just an example where eyewitnesses were on the ground, it would be probably be very problematic to base a foreign policy decision on the alleged firsthand accounts of a few." (thanks Sarah)
Chris Zambelis, a senior analyst specializing in the Middle East for Helios Global Inc., said there has not been a precedent in which social media — essentially citizen journalists, shooting and uploading what they are seeing — has been at the crux of a major foreign policy decision. He cautioned against placing too much stock in the videos and photos because it could be a false-flag attack. "I think it is one of those things where people are now taking stock of what happened," Mr. Zambelis said. In this case, he said social media are taking the place of snapshots and eyewitness accounts. "We have to look at this. Maybe step away from the fact that it came from social media and look at it in a different context," he said. "If this was just an example where eyewitnesses were on the ground, it would be probably be very problematic to base a foreign policy decision on the alleged firsthand accounts of a few." (thanks Sarah)
