[cezkaivq] sending a message

X hurts Y to send a threatening message to Z: "hey Z, don't be like Y, or you will be next."  developing the communication channel from X to Z is just as important as committing the hurtful action against Y.  Z might be a large group of people.

if the hurtful action was murder, dead men (Y) tell no tales, so X especially needs a way to communicate to Z.  if it wasn't murder, Y might lie to Z, or otherwise communicate poorly.  or, Y might be silenced (perhaps by another party who opposes X), or choose not to speak for other reasons.  many things could go wrong in communication: this is complicated, perhaps more difficult to get right than the act of hurting Y.

the communication channel from X to Z often must be one that cannot easily be traced backwards, or else retribution becomes possible, including by law enforcement.  (not relevant if X is law enforcement, which is often.)

privileged communication channels can aid one-way communication.  of particular interest is from confidential informant to reporter, to widely disseminate, as news, a message to a large group of people Z.  "if it bleeds, it leads" gives X incentive to be extra violent.  evaluate how much journalism is enabling this kind of nefarious communication.

are there other privileged communication channels that enable this kind of communication?

X might be the government, ruling by fear.  there is not much difference between government and organized crime.

sometimes the government acts secretly in this manner, perhaps trying to circumvent its own checks and balances, but still needing to send the message.

inspired in part by the RIAA's lawsuits against file-sharing.  for every case it took to court, it lost money: legal fees outweighed damages it could recover.  the only way for the lawsuits to be worth it for them was for the lawsuits to spread fear.  many additional parties participated in helping spread the fear, becoming part of the RIAA's communication channel.  most infuriating was the RIAA often not needing to spend any of its own money to do this communication: others spent their own money to design and publish shiny posters warning against file sharing.

some types of terrorism only work if communication also occurs.  but not all: false flag attacks, or terrorism to induce retaliation (e.g., 9/11).