On 1 April, I approach everything I see online with a little scepticism. Yes, of course, it must be an April Fool’s joke. Or is it? We may all be especially alert today, but our perception of news is influenced on ordinary days too. We cannot simply take everything at face value.
With social media and online news, we often learn about events sooner and from people who witnessed them. We no longer have to wait for tomorrow morning’s newspaper and its carefully framed photograph of a student protest, or sit in front of the television at eight o’clock to see footage of bombings on the other side of the world. Citizen sources are valuable, but they also introduce risks. Is the video allegedly showing the final seconds before the Germanwings crash genuine or not?
Photographs and videos are relatively easy to manipulate. Some people even promote the conspiracy theory that the 1969 Moon landing was staged with the help of filmmaker Stanley Kubrick. There are also numerous examples of iconic photographs being taken out of context, creating a misleading impression.
Years ago, I read Joris Luyendijk’s book about his time as a correspondent in the Middle East. There was a gulf between what he saw on the ground and what he could report in radio and television segments. Often, he had to obtain the latest information from the newsroom in Hilversum or other sources before explaining it in a live report.
Then there is NBC news anchor Brian Williams. He said that, while reporting in Iraq in 2003, he had been aboard a military helicopter hit by rocket-propelled grenades. Nightly News’s nine million viewers were given the story as fact, but veterans later disputed it: Williams had not been aboard that helicopter. It was a damaging episode for the American news programme’s credibility.
And I have not even mentioned rumours that media outlets frequently present as facts. We see this regularly in consumer electronics, with a constant stream of speculation about new smartphones, tablets and wearables. Family and friends often ask me about a new product from one of my clients before it has even been officially announced.
The question remains: what is true? A day like 1 April makes us all a little more alert. I will be holding on to my healthy scepticism on every day that follows, too.
Linda
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