An Example of Inaccuracies in Journalism
May
28, 2012
Written by, Aminah Cruise
Written by, Aminah Cruise
Many detrimental effects can come
from stories that contain unsubstantiated or false information, even once a
retraction has been made. The
credibility, reputation, job, and the lives of many can be in jeopardy if this
occurs. The effects are numerous and
far-reaching. Because information spreads
so quickly, it is extremely important that this information is accurate and
truthful. Media professionals around the
world make it their top priority to maintain these elements in the news
broadcasts and stories that are presented to the public. But, human error is inevitable; mistakes are
made, retractions are deemed necessary, and lives are thus affected.
On
May 9, 2005 Newsweek printed a story
about soldiers at Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba desecrating
the Muslim holy book, the Koran. After
the story was printed anti-American protests were common in Islamic communities
around the world, riots broke out in Afghanistan, and people were
dying. Two weeks later, on May 23, 2005,
Newsweek retracted the story. The editor Mark Whitaker had this to say
“Based on what we know now, we are retracting our original story that an
internal military investigation had uncovered Koran abuse at Guantánamo Bay”
(Jaquette, 2007).
The
problem in this situation is that we Americans were already at war with Islamic
nations. This type of story came out in
a time of war and volatile situations were very likely to occur and have
extremely harmful effects on individuals and the national interest. The United States is one of the most
powerful countries in the world and we are already seen as the “bad guys” in
the eyes of many countries including Islamic nations. We were already the enemy. When a story like
this comes out, then they believe that they have something to justify their
already festering hate, whether the story is true or not; retraction or no
retraction. When you plant a seed of
false information in the minds of people who have hatred and animosity clouding
their judgment then the outcome is going to be bad. Even those involved whose judgment wasn’t
biased could not be blamed for being angry and betrayed during this time. The damage that was done with the
presentation of the information cannot be erased easily. This, in my opinion, is one of the biggest
dangers when erroneous information is published.
This
problem could have been avoided if everyone involved had seen the gravity of
the situation and taken many additional steps to ensure the truthfulness and
accuracy of the story. It seems like
some things fell through the cracks in this situation. The people involved were obviously
experienced. Were they blindsided by the
enormity and depth of the situation?
The
journalist should have been more thorough with the investigation and asked more
questions of the source. Newsweek “reported that its senior
government source had backed away from his initial story, and Whitaker wrote
that ‘we regret’ that any part of the story was wrong” ("Newsweek retracts
quran," 2005). With information of
this magnitude it seems legitimate to have your source be willing to
corroborate the information that you get from him or her, or be willing to
identify them self in the beginning to ensure that they don’t get scared once
the story is released. Evidence should
have been a must in this situation as well.
There were reports that detainees at Guantanamo Bay
had complained that the Koran was being mishandled, but there was no proof to
support their complaints. If there is no
proof, then how can anyone be sure of the truth? The journalist should have seen the dire need
for the truth here.
If
I were the editor of the story, then I would have asked that question of the
journalist myself. This isn’t just
another story. This involves accusations
that are going to rock the Islamic communities, the military communities, and
Americans and American politicians in general.
I would want to quote the source and identify him or her. I would also want to see the reports of the
alleged desecration and more importantly, the proof. That is what the public would want. They are going to ask all the questions that
me, as the editor or the journalist forget to answer in our story. In this situation, it was to the detriment of
the story and everyone involved.
If
the Koran story had been true, then it would have been justifiable to publish
the story, despite the reaction in the Muslim and American worlds. The truth will come out in the end. That is my motto. If you try to hide the truth in the
beginning, it only creates more trouble for everyone when it eventually comes
out on its own or is forced out. The
information in this story would need to be released in a way that would “soften
the blow” so to speak. This would be
better than the information just exploding into the media without the proper
reins and professionals needed to make it easier to absorb.
Mistakes
are bound to be made and people will suffer for them. The Code of Ethics that journalists and media
professionals abide by is there to lessen the instance of these mistakes. Accuracy, truth and the greater good of the
public are important to journalists for good reason. A very important thing to keep in mind is
that retractions only clean up some of the mess done by erroneous news
reports. The negative effects vary in
severity, and may continue even after the dust has settled.
An Example of Inaccuracies in Journalism
References
References
Guantanamo
bay prisoners allege abuse, desecration of quran . (2005, May 26).
Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/military/jan-june05/guantanamo_5-26.html
Jacquette,
D. (2007). Journalistic ethics. Pearson Education. Retrieved from http://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780558693404/pages/15672263
Newsweek retracts quran story. (2005, May 16). Retrieved from http://articles.cnn.com/2005-05-16/world/newsweek.quran_1_retraction-newsweek-editor-mark-whitaker-quran?_s=PM:WORLD
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