Daniel Byman
Terrorist attacks and plots have dominated headlines in the last week. In Sydney, Australia, two gunmen killed 15 people at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach on December 14. The same day, a gunman—currently on the loose—killed two students at Brown University in Rhode Island. A day later, the FBI announced the arrest of what it claimed were four pro-Palestine, left-wing terrorists who planned to bomb multiple targets in California on New Year’s Eve. Less noticed, on Saturday, a gunman shot over 20 bullets into a Hanukkah-decorated home in Redlands, California, and shouted “fuck Jews.”
The immediate aftermath of one such attack, let alone such a large number over one weekend, is marked by shock, grief, anger, and profound uncertainty. In those first hours and days, there is little that can or should be done to blunt the emotional impact of violence deliberately designed to horrify. Yet the confusion that follows often compounds the harm. Misinformation is common, particularly on social media. Rumor spreads faster than verified information; speculation outpaces evidence; and early media narratives—however tentative—can influence perceptions of the event and terrorism in general, even if mainstream sources debunk the false information.
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