Internet as Relief Facilitator
The Internet provided more than just information and news about Hurricane Katrina, it gave people the power to offer help regardless of how far away they were located. Pew Internet Project director, Lee Rainie, stated in the Baltimore Sun, "I think people have a sense that the Internet is a tremendously powerful and useful tool for them to provide human aid and comfort. You can do it from anywhere on the planet where there's a modem. You don't have to be living in the vicinity in order to make a difference or show your concern."1
People far and wide utilized the Internet in relief efforts, posting on Web sites dedicated to assisting evacuees such as KatrinaCentral.com, Craigslist.org and nola.com. In their efforts to help, people posted offerings for room and board, employment and supplies in efforts to help those displaced. People also utilized the Internet to make cash donations via charity sites. Nearly one million people had visited the American Red Cross Web site on the Wednesday following the disaster. The traffic was 32 times the average amount.2
Some Web sites provided special services for the relief effort. The Family News Network of the International Committee of the Red Cross is a site that features a large database for those seeking information about loved ones who may have been affected by the hurricane. People could register their names to indicate to loved ones that they were safe, or register the name of a relative whom they were seeking. Meanwhile, the Web site Scipionus provided an interactive map containing information on the status of specific locations affected by the storm.
For Discussion
- Why do you think the Internet played an important function in the relief efforts?
- Discuss the following quote by Pew Internet Project director, Lee Rainie
| Even more than in the television age, which brought disaster into everyone's living room, we're now living in the global village of the Internet. The Internet has added to that sense of intimacy [television began] because you can be talking to others and reacting to others at the same moment as you're watching it unfold. It's that very human need to communicate and respond and try to be of help, and it can be exercised a lot more dramatically now because we have these tools.3 |
- Besides online message boards, what other ways can the Internet be used to help those affected by Hurricane Katrina.
Online Scams
From Web sites claiming to be aid organizations to phoney emails pretending to solicit money from trusted charities, fraudsters are utilizing the Internet to take advantage of people who want to help. Even before the hurricane hit, Katrina-related Web site names, such as ‘katrinahelp.com’ and ‘katrinareleif.com’ appeared online. Some sites are visually identical to real charity sites and ask for money to be sent through Paypal (an online payment service).
Web sites posing as online charities first started appearing in significant numbers following the tragic events of September 11, 2001. After the tsunami disaster of last year, there were over 170 tsunami-related scam sites.4 Hurricane Katrina has generated more than 2,000 Web sites collecting money for relief efforts, the majority of which are designed to defraud.5
Fraud watchers say that a good strategy for people who want to make contributions is to stick to Web sites of established charities - to initiate contact themselves - rather than respond to a link in an e-mail solicitation. E-mails can pretend to represent a legitimate organization, and even provide links to what appears to be a legitimate site, enticing users to post personal/financial information – a process known as ‘phishing’. (Established charities collect money online, but they do not send out e-mail solicitations.)
For Discussion
1 Dan Thanh Dang and Joe Burris, "On the Internet, offers of assistance" Baltimore Sun, September 2, 2005.
2 Yuki Noguchi, "Good Samaritans Turn to Web to Help Victims" Washington Post, September 2, 2005; Page D04 (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/01/AR2005090102126.html)
3 Baltimore Sun, September 2, 2005
4 Brian Krebs and Caroline E. Mayer, "Scammers Hit Web in Katrina’s Wake" Washington Post, September 1, 2005; Page D12 (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/31/AR2005083102574.html)
5 Andrew Zajac, "FBI warns of fake sites for charities" The Chicago Tribune, September 10, 2005.
