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Some context around the sea lion saga

UBC prof breaks down viral videos, fake news and why people choose to share certain information on social media
sea lion
A video of a sea lion dragging a young girl from a Steveston wharf into the water racked up 20 million views in its first four days on YouTube.

It’s no secret that viral videos and cellphone cameras have changed the media landscape such that journalists aren’t always the first to cover breaking news.

It’s in those instances and circumstances that journalists must focus on context, rationale and scene setting.

So says Alfred Hermida, a director and associate professor at UBC’s Graduate School of Journalism.

Hermida spoke to the Courier in the wake of Saturday’s Steveston sea lion incident that has since been seen tens of millions of times across the world. What’s missing in the narrative, according to Hermida, is the lack of explanation around where the incident happened — that the Steveston Fisherman's Wharf is a high-traffic tourist destination that’s home to the sea lions in question.

“Anybody who’s been down to that part of Steveston knows that people like to sit by the water there and have their lunch,” he said. “If you know the context there, you know that sitting by the water here is not unusual. It happens every day. But if you just saw the video and you have no context you would jump to the conclusion of almost blaming the parents for allowing this to happen to their child.”

Captured by a Vancouverite identified as Michael Fujiwara, the video surpassed the 20 million view mark in four days and was widely reported on by media outlets across North America.

The incident saw a male seal lion twice lunge towards a young girl at the wharf. She was dragged into the water and almost instantly pulled to safety by the young girl’s grandfather.

The Courier has reached out to Fujiwara for comment, but he did not respond. 

Family members told CBC radio on Wednesday that legal action is being contemplated against Fujiwara for capturing the incident, all of which took place on public property. It is within the law for anyone to film or photograph in any public place in Canada.

“The person shooting the video is not responsible for how people have interpreted and reacted to it,” Hermida said. “The family might be more upset with the reaction and the representation of what happened than the actual video itself, but once you post something, people will then interpret it through their own lenses.”

Hermida’s point around interpretation also speaks to the larger issue of why people share certain information on social media. Referred to as the social media “echo chamber” effect, those items are shared on social media specifically to reinforce a perceived set of shared values.

“This is sometimes why fake news gets shared to the world — people will share something, and they might think that it’s probably not true, but it’s still ‘OMG can you believe this?’ You’re not sharing it because it’s truthful or not, you’re sharing it to get that visceral reaction,” Hermida said. “We love to be outraged at stuff. Part of that is because when we share things because of outrage, we’re also comparing how our social circle feels the same way about an issue.”

@JohnKurucz

jkurucz@vancourier.com