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Computer
Viruses and "False Authority Syndrome"
Magazines,
Newspapers, TV
PAUL
MAYER, AN expert on marketing for small software companies,
wrote a regular column for a computer magazine. His editors once paid
him to write an article on viruses. Mayer's virus credentials appeared
in the fourth paragraph:
"I
have personally had two contacts with viruses in 15 years of working
with computers. The first encounter caught me completely off-guard.
I was prepared for the second."
Mayer wrote the
story from the perspective of a regular user. He believes the magazine
picked him to write it because of his first-hand user experience
with viruses. And to his credit, Mayer consulted with a genuine virus
expert while writing the article.
Unfortunately,
reporters in the mainstream media will quote almost anyone
when it comes to viruses -- and they habitually quote local people.
A typical story illustrates this point. Published in the St.
Louis Post-Dispatch during 1992's worldwide Michelangelo virus
scare, it quoted various local businessmen, among them:
- Craig Johnson,
manager of a local Software Plus store;
- Ernest White,
manager of a local Babbage's store;
- Todd Jones,
salesman at a local Software Centre store.
This problem afflicts
TV reporters as well. An NBC Nightly News story at the
height of 1992's Michelangelo scare included an interview with a computer
salesman. He mentioned his customers' panic and the reporter asked
if "the panic is justified." The salesman responded: "yes."
And there you
have it: panic is justified if you think your computer might
have a virus. So says a nationally recognized computer salesman.
Even "computer-literate"
mainstream reporters commit serious blunders when they write stories
about viruses. Numerous reporters logged onto CompuServe, GEnie,
Prodigy, and America Online during the Michelangelo scare and posted
messages to "all." Each message asked the same question:
"Want to be interviewed for a story on the Michelangelo virus?"
These reporters
didn't search for experts -- they went on a "cattle call"
for frightened computer users. One USA Today reporter,
expecting an avalanche of calls, asked people not to tie up his
phone unless he or she actually got hurt by the Michelangelo
virus on its upcoming March 6 trigger date.
Consider the tragic accident where actor Christopher Reeve broke
his neck. The mainstream media quickly turned to spinal-injury specialists
for comment. Why didn't they ask a podiatrist if Reeve will
ever walk again?
Podiatrists
can diagnose walking disorders and they easily outnumber spinal-injury
specialists. But a podiatrist offers the wrong expertise
in Christopher Reeve's case. The press recognizes this difference.
Change the topic to computer viruses -- now they'll quote almost
anybody with a job in the computer industry.
NEVER UNDERESTIMATE
THE mainstream media's role in the spread of False Authority
Syndrome. Empirical Research Systems (a computer industry polling
firm) conducted a survey in 1991 of corporate employees tasked in
some way with computer security. 43% of respondents -- almost half
-- formed their opinions about viruses just by reading newspapers!
Newspaper reporters
talk to these people to get details (and quotes) for a story. This
means the press feeds information to virus pseudo-experts,
who gladly regurgitate it for other reporters, who write more stories
about viruses, which other pseudo-experts read... thus creating
an endless circle of misinformation and a never-ending supply of
"instant experts."
This same survey
concluded with a sad statistic: it estimates two-thirds of
employees tasked with computer security duties have inadequate
knowledge about computer viruses.
The "Green
Paint Factor"
Interestingly,
mainstream reporters sometimes quote computer-industry reporters in
stories about viruses. For example, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
story mentioned earlier also included a quote from InfoWorld
editor Ed Foster.
Jeff Duntemann,
editor of Visual Developer magazine, likens this trend
to what he calls the Green Paint Factor. "If you want to extol
the virtues of a can of green paint, and the best you can say is
that it's green -- well, it's probably not good paint."
If you want to quote Ed Foster about computer viruses, and the best
you can say is that he edits a weekly computer publication...
Duntemann continues:
"The job of a computer magazine editor [or reporter] is to
know a little about a lot in the computer field. He has a considerable
breadth of knowledge but not a serious depth of knowledge,
except perhaps in a couple of very narrow specialties."
Why, then,
does the mainstream media quote people in the computer press? Duntemann
believes computer-industry reporters (and editors in particular)
can speak and write well. "If you can turn a good phrase
about a subject, whether or not you know anything at all about it,
then you have a good chance of being labeled an expert," he
notes. "Especially by people who know nothing at all about
that subject."
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