OPINION: Social Media Is Ruining True Journalism

About four years ago, I wrote a rare editorial on the damaging impact social media has had on professional journalism. Sunday’s incident involving an escaped inmate from an Enfield prison followed the same ugly pattern I had outlined back in 2014, prompting me to dig out the old commentary and update it for today.

The situation that arose Sunday night on Facebook clearly proved a point I’ve been saying for several years – social media is ruining true journalism.

All Connecticut media organizations received notification Sunday afternoon that an inmate at the Carl Robinson Correctional Institution in Enfield was “unaccounted for” at an afternoon check. Department of Correction and Enfield officers canvassed the area, going door-to-door with fliers containing a description and photo of the missing inmate, and alerts were sent out to area residents who are signed up for the town’s emergency notification system.

The last notification I received was that DOC officials were confident the inmate had long since left the Enfield area. However, that’s when the miscommunication began flowing on Facebook.

On various Enfield Facebook pages, people began saying the inmate had been caught. When commenters began saying the news was still saying he was at large, one woman responded her husband works for the DOC and called her to say they had caught the man.

Instantly, every news outlet in the state was called into question, insinuating we do not know what we are talking about. At 9:15 p.m., after speaking by phone with the DOC external affairs director, I published a story update indicating the inmate was still loose, but even that wasn’t good enough for the “Keyboard Kowboys,” who continued to argue that this woman’s “insider knowledge” had to be more accurate than a statement from a top DOC administrator.

Ultimately, after nearly an hour and a half of such nonsense, the woman posted that she had just found out her husband had lied to her about being told the inmate was in custody. Immediately, the backtracking began.

As a media veteran of more than 20 years, seeing words like “I hear that…” or “Rumor has it…” or “I know someone that says…” on social media make my blood boil. Even worse are those who throw out “facts” without any attribution or source whatsoever, often inciting fear and panic in those who choose to believe every word they see on the Internet.

Sadly, this sort of communication error has become more commonplace in the era of instant knowledge.

News has always been a business, but modern technology has also turned it into a race. The old days of a story being researched, authenticated and fact-checked before publication or broadcast have gone the way of powdered wigs and 8-track tapes. The important thing in news directors’ minds has become being first with the story, and if a little inaccurate, well, just fix it later.

Social media, particularly Facebook, has heavily contributed to the decline in accurate information sharing. Every town has their wannabe reporters who feel it is their duty to report everything they see and hear, regardless of factual basis. As a result, misinformation spreads like wildfire, and in cases such as Sunday’s prison incident, causes unnecessary confusion and even panic among residents.

To this category of people, all I can say is: let the communication channels operate efficiently, whether it be through the DOC administration, the police department or other agency. I can also guarantee you that any stories I write will continue to provide fact-based information, attributed to the proper sources.

Photo credit: Shutterstock