The power of social media came to the fore following the Bastille Day attack with people warned, advised, reassured and reunited through Twitter and Facebook.
ADVERTISEMENTSocial media again came to the fore in the aftermath of the Bastille Day attack.
Because the official government warning and information app for mobile phones set up for events like this failed to work the authorities had to issue messages through Twitter and Facebook.
The police quickly sent out advisories to people to stay away from Nice city centre. They were also told not to spread rumours, or to send out or resend pictures of the dead and injured.
#Nice06 Ne propagez pas des rumeurs et ne diffusez pas des images ou photos choquantes sur les réseaux sociaux.
— GendarmerieNationale (@Gendarmerie) July 14, 2016
As tweets about the attack flooded out, and the scale of the death toll started to become apparent,
the police also urged people to report, via an official website, anyone who used the internet to post, share or to like graphic images on social media.
[#Nice] Vous constatez des contenus illicites ou choquants sur internet ? Signalez-les sur https://t.co/fGWOs7UKXEpic.twitter.com/gyC8dI9uen
— Police Nationale (@PoliceNationale) July 14, 2016
[#Nice06] Protect your children! Do not share explicit content pic.twitter.com/CmSzeO7i7r
— Police Nationale (@PoliceNationale) July 15, 2016
To help those displaced by the attack assistance and shelter was offered with the hashtag PortesOuvertes – open doors – first used during last November’s attacks in Paris.
The City of Nice was one of the first to utilise the Portes Ouvertes hashtag for those needing somewhere to stay after the attack or locals offering accommodation.
#PortesOuvertsNice and #Facebook safety check are a way that social media can help in aftermath in #nicehttps://t.co/7UMZT1oyw8
— Patricia Berg (@frauberg) July 15, 2016
Similarly, social media was used for appeals for blood donors, initially in Nice and when that facility was overwhelmed at centres elsewhere in France.
Tweets also informed survivors that taxi drivers were not charging to take people away from the area of the attack.
The power of social media also came into use for finding out if people were OK, and reuniting those separated in the chaos of the attack.
The Facebook Safety Check feature – originally launched for natural disasters like earthquakes – helped to reassure many.
Facebook activates Safety Check after truck attack kills dozens in Nice, France https://t.co/wCqROlYXoPpic.twitter.com/BPZ5czAFyK
— CNET (@CNET) July 15, 2016
There were reports of parents throwing children out of the way of the truck during the attack to save them.
One story ended happily, with an eight-month-old baby lost by his mother in the melee reunited with the family after an appeal was posted on Facebook and shared more than 22,000 times.
The baby in his pram had been found by locals and taken into their home.
Parents lost their eight-month-old baby during the Nice attack. Then Facebook intervened https://t.co/NBXl0aGtzFpic.twitter.com/0DY0TvjfbR
— The Independent (@Independent) July 15, 2016
How 1 mom was reunited with her baby after being separated during the #NiceAttackhttps://t.co/7m0IEVGNv8pic.twitter.com/ms38z5WZtR
— POPSUGAR Moms (@POPSUGARMoms) July 15, 2016