The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (DHS CP3) selected the top three high school and top three collegiate finalists for the fall 2022 iteration of Invent2Prevent, a national student competition to identify new, whole-of-society approaches to prevent targeted violence, hate, and terrorism. Invent2Prevent is run by the McCain Institute, EdVenture Partners, and Credence Management Solutions LLC. Out of the 24 university teams competing this semester, Duke University, Texas Tech University, and the University of South Carolina were named as finalists.
The University of South Carolina team created the “No name, no fame” initiative which aims to prevent the negative effects of revealing the names of mass shooters in the media. Studies show that an excess of news coverage on mass shooters increases the chance of similar shootings occurring. By calling on journalists, news outlets, press associations and similar media organizations to change how they report mass shootings, the goal of “No name, no fame” is to mitigate the media contagion and copycat effects of sensationalizing these horrific crimes.
To make this happen, “No name, no fame” encourages journalists to limit naming and providing identifying details of mass shooters whenever possible. Instead, journalists are encouraged to focus on victims when reporting on a mass shooting.
The project provides journalists with tools on how to alternatively report on these tragedies without giving the perpetrators the notoriety they desire and educate the public on their role in slowing the spread of the mass shooting epidemic in America. Visit the “no name no fame” project at @nonamenofamecampaign on Instagram.
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