Sniper

[ISpeds00]

[criminalclaret]

I know they hate Bashly at Ewood but this is taking things a little too far. Good job he wasn't subbed on.

[Croydon Claret]

Looking for people sneaking off

[beddie]

What on earth is that about?

[Bosscat]

Jesus wept

[Vegas Claret]

is that from today ? wtf

[Awayfromburnley]

Nah, that will be from the Elton John concert in 2017

Look at the sunlight.

Good try though

[BigGaz]

Assuming that's not a Photoshop, they're not there for football fans.

They'll be there because they had intelligence there was a credible threat to matchgoers security (likely terrorism).

Remember those barriers that spanned the road a few years back? Bolted to each side of the road. They were there for that reason too.

[equinox]

One of Blackburns center half's will grab them by their shirt just as their about to shoot.

[Clovius Boofus]

Looks photoshopped to me.

[GetIntoEm]

Not gonna attack Blackburn are they

[helmclaret]

What a terrible comment

[wilks_bfc]

Nah, that will be from the Elton John concert in 2017

Look at the sunlight.

Good try though

Definitely from the Elton John concert.

I got my parents tickets for it and remember seeing the photo at the time

[Clovius Boofus]

Definitely from the Elton John concert.

I got my parents tickets for it and remember seeing the photo at the time

Yes, of course. It was only a couple of weeks after the atrocity at the Manchester Arena.

[Pickles]

Meanwhile, Parker goes to new lengths to ensure a shot on target...

[jtrbfc]

Mad how people fall for this stuff

[Rowls]

Mad how people fall for this stuff

I posted the image the other day but asked for the mods to remove it when I realised it was from an Elton John concert.

My post was genuinely asking the question, "Is this real?" I also stated my fears of terrorism at football.

People "fall for it" because for many reasons.

1. The threat of terrorism is real. We have posters in the Bob Lord stand toilets telling us what to do in the event of a terrorism attack.
2. Fear is the prime motivating emotion. It's stronger than any other emotion at eliciting responses from us because it is an evolutionary response designed to keep us alive.

I asked for my OP to be removed because although I was genuinely asking the question, "Is this real?" it was reiterating the inference that the photo was taken at the football, but it wasn't. Which leads to ...

3. The photo is real, in the sense it hasn't (to my knowledge) been altered. It's a real photo from an Elton John concert. The fact that snipers are needed for pop concerts is worrying in itself.

[jtrbfc]

I posted the image the other day but asked for the mods to remove it when I realised it was from an Elton John concert.

My post was genuinely asking the question, "Is this real?" I also stated my fears of terrorism at football.

People "fall for it" because for many reasons.

1. The threat of terrorism is real. We have posters in the Bob Lord stand toilets telling us what to do in the event of a terrorism attack.
2. Fear is the prime motivating emotion. It's stronger than any other emotion at eliciting responses from us because it is an evolutionary response designed to keep us alive.

I asked for my OP to be removed because although I was genuinely asking the question, "Is this real?" it was reiterating the inference that the photo was taken at the football, but it wasn't. Which leads to ...

3. The photo is real, in the sense it hasn't (to my knowledge) been altered. It's a real photo from an Elton John concert. The fact that snipers are needed for pop concerts is worrying in itself.

I wasn't referring to you directly.

I meant it in the sense that people were re-sharing this on social media saying it was from this weekends game when it very clearly isn't. It happens so often now, image or article gets shared, either completely made up or someone claims it's from a certain event or time, everyone instantly believes it.

The obvious giveaway in this instance is the lighting - does it usually start going dark in the UK at noon?

It's a very stark reminder of how misinformation spreads on social media.

[Rowls]

I wasn't referring to you directly.

I meant it in the sense that people were re-sharing this on social media saying it was from this weekends game when it very clearly isn't. It happens so often now, image or article gets shared, either completely made up or someone claims it's from a certain event or time, everyone instantly believes it.

The obvious giveaway in this instance is the lighting - does it usually start going dark in the UK at noon?

It's a very stark reminder of how misinformation spreads on social media.

It's all good jtrbfc.

The thing about the sunlight demonstrating the photo isn't from our visit is pretty damned obvious - but only when you notice it or it's pointed out. It's not immediate. But fear is immediate.

I just wanted to explain why people share it without thinking enough about it first.

[Plissken]

Because, like a lot of disinformation, they wanted it to be real because it conformed to their pre-existing prejudices.

[tarkys_ears]

Was expecting Tom Berenger on this thread!

[Vintage Claret]

Yes, of course. It was only a couple of weeks after the atrocity at the Manchester Arena.

Mrs VC and I went to that Elton John concert at Ewood which was on 10th June and I remember seeing the snipers on the roof that evening - it had actually been hammering it down most of the day but the sun came out about an hour before the gig started.

There were lots of armed police on the ground as well, mingling with the crowd.

We'd actually been to a Beach Boys gig in Scarborough about 10 days before which was only a few days after the Manchester attack and again there were loads of armed police present.

Disconcerting to see at a pop concert yet at the same time reassuring to know they were there to protect the public.

[dougcollins]

Definitely from the Elton John concert.

I got my parents tickets for it and remember seeing the photo at the time

He's not that bad.

[Rowls]

Because, like a lot of disinformation, they wanted it to be real because it conformed to their pre-existing prejudices.

People are always more inclined to believe things that are in line with their view of the world.
People are always more inclined to disbelieve things that challenger their view of the world.

Make of this what you will.

However, the picture is genuine and those snipers were not placed on that roof because of "prejudices".

[Cardclaret]

When we were at Ewood for the league cup game a few years ago there was an armed copper stood on the corner of the car park where the buses turn off Bolton Rd. A long rifle like the one in the picture, plenty of people on my bus saw it and commented about it.