The need to verify the authenticity of news stories before
publication is very important. However, some Nigerian bloggers, in a bid to
gain wide readership, will post any story, credible or improbable. Yes, in the
process of verifying, news may become history but it is better not to write on
what you don't know much about than to mislead the masses.
How do readers distinguish between a hoax and an original
news when even some of our bloggers and journalists cannot? Provided the
"news" is trending, every blog has it and nobody cares if its
contents are factual or not.
Few weeks ago, the Nigerian blogosphere was brimming with
the story of the open letter allegedly written by Sergei Mavrodi to the
Nigerian Government. This, in my opinion, was nothing but a PR stunt by the
Nigerian organizers of the MMM. Major news outlets propagated the news without
even using the word "alleged". They believed it actually originated
from Mavrodi himself. Nothing proved that he actually wrote it. Some of our
bloggers and journalists know this fact but like I said, they'll publish
anything all in the name of traffic. A website even responded to the alleged
letter.
News stories must be factual, objective and devoid of
editorial bias. Notwithstanding, yellow journalism is now more preferred by our
bloggers and journalists. They employ eye-catching headlines which may not
necessarily reflect the actual contents of the story, bringing about deception.
According to Wikipedia, (2016) Sensationalism is a type of
editorial bias in mass media in which events and topics in news stories and
pieces are hyped to present biased impressions on events, which may cause a
manipulation to the truth of a story. Everyday, we come across sensationalism
in thousands of news stories churned out by the Nigerian media.
The influx of hoax into our media is a great challenge to
the credibility of our press men. Having undergone training, they should be in
a better position to easily spot fake news.
The “MMM Nigeria
Reduces Poverty in Nigeria by 20%”
headline which was believed to have actually originated from the BBC was
actually welcomed with widespread publicity, although many news writers knew it
wasn't real. Another one reads "Iara Oshiomole files for divorce"
there was no evidence. If care is not taken, eventually, the contents of one of
these fake stories may lead to mass hysteria.
We must take time to duly verify the originality of every
news before we send them out there because they have the power to appeal to
emotion and also shape public opinion.
Written by Gbenga Ajao
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