Who is to blame: content-analysis of blog-posts about Domodedovo terrorist attack

Who is to blame:
content-analysis of blog-posts about Domodedovo terrorist attack


Gavrilov K.A.

National research University ‘Higher school of economics’, Moscow, Russia gavrilov@socio.msk.ru

Tolmach A.D.

Institute of Sociology, Russian Academy of Sciences. Moscow, Russia tolmach@me.com

ID of the Article: 5450


For citation:

Gavrilov K.A., Tolmach A.D. Who is to blame: content-analysis of blog-posts about Domodedovo terrorist attack. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2014. No 12. P. 81-88




Abstract

The article analyzes blogs as a source of collectively generated opinions. The aim is to find out responsibility ascriptions by lay people in case of terrorist attack by studying blogs. Content analysis of blog posts generated in four-day period after Domodedovo airport (Russia) terrorist attack in January 2011 was conducted. Responsibility for the attack is obviously ascribed mainly to institutional (power structures), rather than to individual terrorist or collective (religious fundamentalists) actors. Blogs do not replace traditional media still playing significant role for blogs themselves as a source of factual judgment-free information. Theoretical significance of results obtained amounts to the fact that in a considerable number of cases the actor is accused without specifying his action of commission or omission. Besides, distinction between types of involvement is very important: bloggers blame actors more often for omission than for commission.


Keywords
social media; blogs; terrorism; terrorist threat; sociology of risks; risk perception; responsibility and blame attribution
Content No 12, 2014