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The Kenneth Law Media Event – A Dangerous Natural Experiment

2024; Hogrefe Verlag; Volume: 45; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1027/0227-5910/a000942

2151-2396

Mark Sinyor, Lorna Fraser, Daniel J. Reidenberg, Paul Yip, Thomas Niederkrotenthaler,

Gun Ownership and Violence Research

Free AccessThe Kenneth Law Media Event – A Dangerous Natural ExperimentMark Sinyor, Lorna Fraser, Dan Reidenberg, Paul S. F. Yip, and Thomas NiederkrotenthalerMark SinyorMark Sinyor, Department of Psychiatry Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre2075 Bayview Avenue, FG52, Toronto, ON, M4N 3M5, Canada, [email protected]https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7756-2584Department of Psychiatry, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, CanadaDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, ON, Canada, Lorna FraserMedia Advisory Service, Samaritans, Surrey, UK, Dan ReidenbergNational Council for Suicide Prevention, Burnsville, MN, USA, Paul S. F. YipThe Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR ChinaDepartment of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China, and Thomas Niederkrotenthalerhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9550-628XUnit Suicide Research & Mental Health Promotion, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Centre for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, AustriaWiener Werkstaette for Suicide Research, Vienna, AustriaPublished Online:January 19, 2024https://doi.org/10.1027/0227-5910/a000942PDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInReddit SectionsMoreIn late April 2023, the international media broke the story of the arrest and criminal charges against Kenneth Law, a Canadian man accused of sending a deadly substance to a number of individuals across Canada and internationally (Miller, 2023; Peel Regional Police, 2023). This is a newsworthy story and one that deserves coverage. However, it also carries the potential for harm, as the substance Law allegedly distributed is unusual and previously unknown to most of the public.In this editorial, we will describe some of the ethical issues and considerations regarding responsible reporting of the Kenneth Law story and make recommendations about how such information might be conveyed more safely to the public going forward. At the outset, we acknowledge two important points.First, at the time of writing, Mr. Law's criminal case is still before the courts. We do not intend to make any claims about whether the allegations against him are true or false. What matters from the perspective of suicide prevention is how the details of the allegations are presented to the public, regardless of whether that information is later proven in a court of law. This is because it is the information conveyed by the media, in this case, potentially harmful details of a novel suicide method, that can impact public health and suicide rates. The media has told the story of his case in a specific way, and it is that narrative and its details that we will focus on here.Second, the decision of many journalists reporting on the case to name the actual substance was not in alignment with responsible media reporting guidelines and we ask that expert colleague readers, as well as any journalists who may come across this article, not name it or any other novel suicide method in public-facing communications. The toxic substance that Law is accused of distributing is sodium nitrite, sometimes misreported as sodium nitrate (Peel Regional Police, 2023). We are naming the substance (and the misreported related substance) once here because it is important for those of us who are experts in the scientific community to be aware of what occurred in order to assist with suicide prevention and public policy efforts. We will generally refer to it in this article as "the substance."The Kenneth Law Media Event in CanadaMr. Law was arrested by Peel Regional Police in Ontario, Canada on May 2, 2023, and initially charged with two counts of "counselling or aiding suicide" "involving the online sale and distribution of [the substance]" through websites allegedly associated with him (Peel Regional Police, 2023). Public interest in the substance in Canada can be seen in the context of peak Internet search volumes for it and the related substance identified through Google Trends (Figure 1). The highest search volumes occurred in May 2023 after Mr. Law's initial arrest with another peak beginning in late August 2023 in the context of news that police had laid 12 additional charges on Mr. Law. A third, smaller peak occurred in August 2022. This peak coincides with a news article in Canada's national medical journal (the Canadian Medical Association Journal; CMAJ) that was picked up by the press. The article highlighted a concerning rise in suicides by ingestion of the substance and the role of online forums (Duong, 2022). It then described how physicians can spot signs of poisoning with the substance and called for restricted access to it (Duong, 2022).Figure 1 Google Trends searches for the substance(s) in Canada from January 1, 2022, to October 12, 2023.The Canadian Psychiatric Association (CPA) guidelines for responsible reporting on suicide lists three recommendations that deserve special attention in reporting of suicide cases, including "avoid[ing] details of suicide methods, especially when unusual or novel methods are involved" (Sinyor, Schaffer, Heisel, et al., 2018). However, many media professionals in Canada who covered the story, both national and local, did not follow this guidance. Some journalists repeatedly reported on the method in detail. Canada's most circulated newspaper frequently referred to the substance in their coverage and, in their initial story about Mr. Law, also made reference to another unrelated novel method of suicide that the press has likewise been advised by experts not to disseminate (Freeze & Hager, 2023). Canada's second most circulated newspaper named the substance, described its typical uses and noted that it is not illegal, and explained, in general terms, how it can be used for suicide (Miller, 2023).Canada's national public news broadcaster repeatedly included information in their stories about the substance including running an early headline "Availability of [the substance] online 'makes it highly dangerous,' parent says" (Daigle et al., 2023). Another top broadcaster posted a photo of the substance packaging to accompany one of their earlier stories with the caption, "A list of additional products that [archived webpages] suggest was available for purchase [online] include [list of materials that can be used in suicide]" (Woodward, 2023a). On a positive note, some reports did also include information recommended by guidelines such as helpline numbers (Daigle et al., 2023; Miller, 2023; Woodward, 2023a).The Canadian media continued to highlight the role of the substance as the Kenneth Law story unfolded in May 2023 (CBC News, 2023). Then in August 2023, the media reported that police believed Mr. Law had sent more than 1,200 packages of the substance to people in more than 40 countries (Omstead & Baig, 2023). Later reports continued to describe the substance including displaying images of it (D'Andrea, 2023). One of us (MS), shared responsible media guidelines as well as concerns about specifically naming the substance with multiple Canadian outlets throughout these months, but with very limited success. A common response from journalists was that, since others had already reported on the substance, they no longer felt an ethical obligation to avoid sharing this method.The Kenneth Law Media Event InternationallyInitial breaking news of the Kenneth Law story did not appear to receive nearly as extensive coverage in the US as in Canada. However, CNN, CBS News, and The New York Times, for example, all ran stories about Mr. Law that discussed the substance in their coverage (CBS/Associate Press, 2023; Isai, 2023; Newton, 2023). In the UK, where Samaritans' media advisory team has published MediaGuidelines for Reporting Suicide and delivered a program of engagement and education with journalists for many years, reports covered similar detail to those in Canada but refrained from identifying the substance. The Guardian simply referred to the cause of suicide as "a lethal substance" (Cecco, 2023). The BBC called it a "poisonous chemical" (Crawford, 2023), whereas the Daily Mail simply said that Mr. Law allegedly "sold poison online" (Reynolds, 2023). The Irish Times used the term "deadly substance" (Harrison, 2023). Sky News showed a photo very similar to the one published by the Canadian broadcaster but blurred the product name so that no identifying information about the substance was visible and helpfully stated, "Sky News is choosing not to reveal the name of the chemical that Law was allegedly selling" (Sky News, 2023). The Times consulted Samaritans' media advisory team while putting their investigative piece and podcast series together. In their coverage they likewise described that a decision was made not to name the lethal substance, as did Australia's ABC (Beal & Kington, 2023; Gramenz & Miller, 2023). The South China Morning Post in Hong Kong ran an article noting that Mr. Law was accused of mailing a substance that is "a food additive" without naming it (Agence France-Presse [AFP], 2023a) as did the Kuwait Times (AFP, 2023b).This coverage was complicated by the fact that the international media did sometimes pick up stories from the Canadian or US media. For example, The Times of India reported on the substance by running a story through The New York Times (NYT News Service, 2023) and the international public also had access to these stories online even if journalists in their own countries adhered to best practices.Why the Kenneth Law Media Reporting Was so DangerousMore than a decade ago, Florentine and Crane (2010) posited a dichotomy in which two key factors play a role in suicide deaths – the physical availability of the means of suicide and the cognitive (or psychological) availability of suicide. Under optimal circumstances, suicide prevention efforts aim to reduce both. This is one reason why the distribution of substances for the purpose of suicide is illegal in many jurisdictions – because societies discourage people from increasing the availability of suicide methods to the public. Based on international research evidence into the impact of media reporting of suicide, the media reporting surrounding Mr. Law's case is likely to have increased the psychological availability of a previously uncommon suicide method. As a result, it represents a dangerous media event.There have been multiple instances of novel methods of suicide spreading through the media, including a method which skyrocketed in Asia following highly publicized media stories (Yeung et al., 2023). Another example in England and Wales seems to have spread more predominantly through the Internet rather than the popular media with smaller numerical increases at a population-level compared to the increases seen in suicide in the Asian example (Gunnell et al., 2015). Given these findings, we must be especially concerned that the media's coverage of Law's case has now educated the population about a previously obscure suicide method. The issue was described well in an interview in a Canadian article with a UK mother whose child died by suicide allegedly after receiving the substance from Law. She stated, "We'd never heard of it before. I didn't have a clue what it was" (Woodward, 2023b). Certainly, the increase in psychological availability of any novel suicide method, including the one specific to the coverage of Law's case, is something that we in the suicide prevention community must be concerned about.This is also particularly unfortunate as the story of Law's arrest and prosecution has some hallmarks of a media event that should be associated with fewer subsequent suicides. One of the most reproducible results in suicide and media research is that reports of suicide in "villains," and specifically people who perpetrate murder–suicides, are associated with fewer subsequent suicides. This has been shown repeatedly for news media reporting (Niederkrotenthaler et al., 2009; Pirkis et al., 2006; Sinyor, Schaffer, Nishikawa, et al., 2018; Stack, 1987, 1990) and this finding has been replicated for social media exposures (Sinyor et al., 2021). This story obviously differs in that the alleged perpetrator of wrongdoing did not die by suicide. Nevertheless, there is some overlap in themes within the coverage. For example, the Toronto Sun, a major Canadian tabloid, ran an article describing Law as an "Angel of Death by Proxy" whose behavior was, in some respects, akin to a serial killer (Hunter, 2023). In general, the coverage has placed substantial focus on the idea that Law's alleged actions were wrong and that it is wrong to help people die by suicide. If that message resonated with the public, we can only hope that it reduced the risk of imitation effects and might thereby mitigate some of the risks of portraying the method. But based on the extensive coverage of the method in Canada, we are concerned that any suicide-reductive effect might be diminished in the present case and that additional deaths may well result from the portrayal. Importantly, if this comes to pass, an increase in suicides was absolutely preventable. Given these considerations we will outline how the media and suicide prevention experts can learn from the problematic reporting that occurred in this case to help ensure that future reporting is safer.Recommendations for the FutureThe first key lesson from reporting about Law's case is the need for more outreach and dialogue between journalists and people with expertise in safe media reporting. Journalists should continue to seek advice from experts in how to cover stories about suicide and/or suicide-related behaviors safely. In parallel, suicide prevention experts must work proactively with journalists and journalism universities to disseminate advice on recommended practices early on, ensuring that journalists are well informed before they even begin to formulate coverage of a story like Law's. The journalism community in Canada has shown substantial receptivity to feedback and discussion about the safety of suicide-related reporting (Sinyor et al., 2016). Indeed, professors of journalism at one of Canada's top journalism schools recently published an article criticizing coverage of a different story in a major Canadian newspaper that was not consistent with guidelines (Adamson et al., 2023). However, convincing journalists to avoid coverage of suicide methods remains an ongoing challenge. Updated World Health Organization (WHO) and International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) guidelines, as well as many other guidelines such as the Samaritans' guidelines in the UK, urge journalists not to mention details of a suicide method, particularly if it is unusual (Samaritans, 2020; WHO & IASP, 2023). It is clear that it is taking some time for journalistic norms to evolve in this respect. In acknowledgement of that fact, WHO guidelines added the following: "However, if a decision is made to include a suicide method in the reporting, it is best to do this only once, and in the centre of the story, rather than in a headline, opening paragraph, [nutshell paragraph] or other prominent part of the story" (WHO, 2023). This suggestion provides a possible strategy in instances where journalists decide the method has to be reported; but overall, from a suicide prevention standpoint, avoiding the method altogether is the evidence-based approach to minimize harms. Examples from the UK show that there are indeed many media professionals who followed the recommendation not to mention the method, even in the present, challenging case of reporting on Law.In parallel, there may also be a role for a deeper exploration of journalistic ethics. International codes of ethical conduct for journalists emphasize minimizing harm and "[balancing] the public's need for information against potential harm" (Society of Professional Journalists, 2014). Notably, the Canadian Association of Journalists' code of ethics does not specifically mention either of these ideas (Canadian Association of Journalists, 2011). This might merit further exploration and discussion with and between journalists.A second potential avenue for dialogue with journalists is national media councils. Some of us contacted the National News Media Council in Canada after the initial story about Law broke in the hopes that they might intervene. The Media Council indicated that it is only able to intervene about a complaint regarding a specific journalist's work and not in relation to an overarching concern, as in this case. Nevertheless, suicide prevention experts could proactively engage media councils to strategize about how to handle these situations going forward including investigating whether such policies might be amenable to change. This work has been carried out by Samaritans in the UK with the press and broadcast regulatory bodies. This has been a contributing factor to the absence of naming of novel suicide methods in UK media stories.A third option could be to intervene with the original data custodians. It may be helpful to engage with the police and/or regional medical examiners or coroners to review their practices in cases like these. These organizations have rules about releasing sensitive information that could cause harm and it would be worth exploring whether it is possible for them to suppress data on specific novel methods (or for the courts to institute publication bans) in the public interest. Police and coroners/medical examiners could be encouraged to do what some international journalists did in this case (e.g., calling the method a "toxic substance" and explaining the decision not to name the specific substance). Such efforts are often undertaken, for example, in the UK, where Samaritans has worked with the police and with coroners to redact mentions of the specific method in this case. This would also potentially align with Canadian police codes that emphasize advancing public safety (Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, 2023) as well as coroner/medical examiner code of ethics that suggest they must consider the health and well-being of the community and consider how decisions impact the public interest (Government of Ontario, 2023). However, we recognize that such procedures differ by location and that there may be some jurisdictions where disclosure is mandated by law.There is evidence that spreading stories of survival may reduce suicidal thoughts and potentially suicides (Hawley et al., 2023; Niederkrotenthaler et al., 2021, 2022). One additional intervention could be for suicide prevention experts, mental health organizations, and possibly the media industry itself to have stories of survival (general stories, unrelated to any substance or method of suicide) ready and available for dissemination in the context of potentially dangerous media events such as the story of Law's arrest. Although there is no evidence at present indicating that such stories "counter" negative effects of harmful coverage, it is reasonable to speculate that they might confer some benefit across the population. One related issue that arises in such stories is that people with lived experience do sometimes share suicide methods within their stories of survival. The degree to which this might be safe or harmful is one of the open questions in our field that requires further research. Nevertheless, as with journalists, it would be important to alert people with lived experience who engage publicly of the particular harms of disseminating suicide methods, particularly if they are unusual, and to recommend that they not do so.Lastly, because young people may be particularly susceptible to imitating what they see in the media, it may also be important to engage parents either directly or through the media. Some of us have been approached by journalists who have argued that details of the methods should be included in reporting precisely because it helps parents know what to look out for. While we understand this concern, we think it is problematic for two reasons. One, providing parents with a comprehensive list of all of the current usual and emerging suicide methods would very likely do harm by increasing their psychological availability across the population. Two, such a strategy may not even be effective as new methods will no doubt emerge that will not immediately be known to parents, as in the case of this substance. We would instead recommend that reporting aimed at parents and other important stakeholders (e.g., schools) as well as discussions with them focus on more general advice around improving and supporting good mental health and promoting suicide prevention; that is, that substances can be harmful and even fatal, including in the context of a suicide crisis, that they should monitor their children's purchases, and flag any purchase of an unusual substance. Although not specifically related to media portrayals, it would also be important to engage online sales platforms who sell toxic substances to enact procedures that protect the public.It is too early to know whether the Kenneth Law story had an impact on suicides in Canada and/or internationally. That open question should be the subject of future research. In our experience, the media is much more likely to respond when presented with scientific data on the impact of suicide-related reporting. We certainly hope that the story has not and will not result in more suicides both in general and by the substance; however, journalists should be made aware of the potential impact of their reporting including any findings of an increase in the use of the novel suicide method following the coverage of Law's story, along with the already substantial current evidence on harms from reporting specific suicide methods to inform future editorial decisions.We know that many journalists are trying to do the best job they can in a difficult media landscape. But the Law example shows that there are significant differences in editorial standards and still instances of unsafe reporting that could result in more suicides. More engagement and education are needed to ensure that reporting follows safe practices. We hope that the unfortunate coverage of the Kenneth Law case can be used as an opportunity for engagement and knowledge exchange with the media to help prevent suicides going forward. We aim to avoid the unintended consequences on those at risk whom media professionals are also trying to protect.The importance of raising awareness amongst media professionals, rallying their support to be our partners for suicide prevention, and providing research evidence and training to improve media reporting should be the long-term and sustainable strategy to reduce any harmful effects of media reporting of suicide news.Author BiographiesMark Sinyor, MSc, MD, FRCPC, is a psychiatrist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, an associate professor at the University of Toronto, and the America's lead for the International Association for Suicide Prevention's Partnerships for Life initiative. He is lead author of the Canadian Psychiatric Association recommendations for media reporting on suicide.Lorna Fraser heads up Samaritans' media advisory service in the UK. Her team educates and supports media with covering the topics of suicide and self-harm, to reduce the risk of media depictions influencing imitative behavior. The team also supports other nonmedia organizations when communicating about these issues publicly.Dan Reidenberg, PsyD, is director of the National Council for Suicide Prevention and special advisor to IASP. He is an internationally recognized expert in suicide prevention, media, and the internet. He authored the Best Practices for Media Reporting on Suicide and has trained media globally on safe reporting of suicide.Paul S. F. Yip, PhD, is director of the Hong Kong Jockey Club for Suicide Research and Prevention, associate dean of the Faculty of Social Science at the University of Hong Kong, and recipient of the 2011 IASP Stengel Award. His work focuses on public health approaches for suicide prevention.Thomas Niederkrotenthaler, PhD, is an associate professor and at the Center for Public Health at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria. He is an internationally recognized expert in the area of suicide and the media and currently a vice president of IASP.ReferencesAdamson, G., Fatah, S., & Malik, A. (2023, August 1). Why did newsrooms contravene guidelines about suicide coverage in reporting on the death of a former principal? J-Source. https://j-source.ca/why-did-newsrooms-contravene-guidelines-about-suicide-coverage-in-reporting-on-the-death-of-a-former-principal/ First citation in articleGoogle ScholarAgence France-Presse (AFP). (2023a, August 30). Canada police file new charges against Kenneth Law over global sale of suicide substances. 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