Terrorist attacks receive different attention

The Attacks

In France on Jan. 7, 12 satirical journalists are killed. The attack makes front page of every newspaper.

In Nigeria on Jan. 3, up to 2,000 innocent civilians are killed. The attack receives little to no media attention.

Why not?

The two terrorist attacks in France and Nigeria spurred mixed reaction amongst the media. While the events in France have received a multitude of articles, pictures, and social media shoutouts, the attack in Nigeria has gone virtually unnoticed. In contrast to the France attack, the attack in Nigeria, which occurred a weekend before the attack in Paris, reported a possible 2,000 people killed by the militant group, Boko Haram.

Boko Haram, which translates to “western education is sin,” is an Islamic sect that believes politics in northern Nigeria have been seized by corrupt, false Muslims. It has existed for more than a decade in Nigeria, but it has become increasingly violent since an internal leadership change in 2009. They want to violently destroy the Nigerian government and have been waging a war in Nigeria to accomplish this. Boko Haram is also responsible for the kidnapping of over 300 girls from a remote village in north-eastern Nigeria on April 14, 2014.