Shutting down social media does not reduce violence, but rather fuels it: opinion

Do massive disruptions to digital communication achieve their intended purposes?

In the wake of a series of coordinated attacks that claimed more than 250 lives on April 21, the government of Sri Lanka shut off its residents’ access to social media and online messaging systems, including Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, Snapchat and Viber.

The official government concern was that “false news reports were spreading through social media". Some commentators applauded the move, suggesting the dangers of disinformation on social media justified shutting down communication networks in times of crisis.