Sensationalism, fake news on social media undermines journalism

Dec 24, 2019 News

By Kemol King

In the age of the internet, every person with a smart phone has become a reporter. If they notice an accident, they open their phones to flash photos or to go live on Facebook. If a political party wants direct access to the public, liaising with the press is no longer absolutely necessary. The party simply opens a Facebook page and makes posts.

GPA President, Nazima Raghubir

Facebook, one of the more popularly used social media platforms has become something of a monster for modern journalists. Since many online journalistic publications share their news stories on that platform, thousands of impressionable users have learnt to see Facebook as the application they should open if they want to read the news. But this comes with a caveat.
Persons who understand the power and influence can wield against impressionable social media users by just owning a Facebook account, may make up stories, which aren’t necessarily true, but are shared thousands of times on the platform.
They do not necessarily hold themselves to the same ethics and journalistic codes used by media houses.
Even political commentators, and political actors, use Facebook and other social media platforms to spread information that may be untrue or misleading.
The effect of fake and/or sensational news being shared on Facebook was hotly discussed during and after the US 2016 General Elections, and is an important consideration for Guyana as well. Kaieteur News, as such, highlights the need for social media users to ensure that what they read on social media is fact-checked and/or taken from credible sources.

A GPA workshop held in 2017 (Guyana Press Association)

Guyana Press Association (GPA) President Nazima Raghubir told Kaieteur News, that this is the age of “disinformation”.
And due to that, she advises that the role of journalists is even more pronounced now.
The upcoming General and Regional Election season is often described as “the mother of all elections”. Raghubir said that what happens during this period “will drive home the importance of real journalism.”
Fact-checking, she says, is vital, because “[journalists] have to be the persons citizens come to for the truth.”
Raghubir added that the Press Association has already met with the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) for the determination of a reporting code for journalists to use during the election season; she said that this is something of a custom for the GECOM’s relationship with journalists. GPA has apprised GECOM that it is expected to formulate that code.
Furthermore, Raghubir said that there are two planned sessions for journalists, on reporting during the election season.
One sensitisation session will be held on January 7, 2020. The content will be specific to Nomination Day, which is on January 10, 2020.
Another training, to be held late January, is expected to be a comprehensive programme for journalists on electoral laws, processes and the role of the media during the season.
Raghubir said that the training programme will be funded through a grant from the American Embassy, with the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) Guyana taking care of the organisation and project management.

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