If I had the power to censor one idea completely, I would use it to eliminate the airing of footage of mass shooting suspects. Studies have shown that there is a copy cat effect that takes place up to two weeks after a mass shooting in the United States. Mass shootings on U.S. soil have grown exponentially since the early 2000s with one happening on average every twelve and a half days. The increase in media exposure has proven to have a direct correlation with what is being called a “copycat” crime. I believe that if laws can be put in place to restrict the airing of these images and topics, there will be a decrease in mass murders.
As of right now it is common to air footage and talk about those who are suspects in mass murders. This is bad because other psychologically ill minded people will continue to see this as a way to get known. The book titled “The Sandy Hook Slaughter and Copy Cat Killers in a Media Celebrity Society: Analyses and Plans for Action” written by Douglas Kellner goes inside the minds of those who have stood trial for mass murders. In his book he finds that The Columbine shooting served as direct inspiration for the first Virginia Tech shooting. The shooter Seung–hui-Cho analyzed the media’s coverage of the Columbine shooting to “perfect” his horrific incident. If we censor this topic completely there will be a significant drop in mass shootings.
Censorship and Consequences 