When “The hacks” hack social media

Unfortunately, they may not ascribe to the standards of journalistic ethics required and may not follow the Press Code or associate themselves with the Press Council which would regulate the manner in which they gather information for reporting.

And so, what happens when these hacks decide to use the vastly unregulated social media platforms as their journalistic sources? Or when more scrupulous media professionals, desperate for a scoop, are tempted by content they see on Facebook?

In the USA this happened to dramatic effect shortly after the Boston bombings in 2013 and resulted in a tragic ending.  Reddit, an entertainment, news and social networking website, became the site of choice for amateur sleuths attempting to solve the case of the Boston bombing before the culprits were caught. 

Their misidentified a young man as a possible suspect and the allegations went viral... especially when major news outlets picked up the story. When the real suspects were caught a few days later the misidentified “bomber” had already been crucified on social media and in the mainstream press.  Reputable news outlets such as CNN had run the story despite the dubious source being a social media discussion thread.

Obviously that is an extreme example of what can go wrong when the comments of ordinary people on social media are used as news sources, however in a country where censorship is starting to rear its ugly head, it would not be unusual for people, including less experienced or less scrupulous journalists, to rely too heavily on social media news sources.

Verlie Oosthuizen

Shepstone & Wylie Social Media Law Department