When you write, ask yourself where you got your information. Is it from a credible source? The Editors Weblog recently carried a post detailing how Agence France Presse recently banned its reporters from relying on Facebook and Wikipedia as sole sources in their stories. I agree with the news organization's reasoning – the two sites rely on info posted by whomever, so in many cases it hasn't been reviewed for accuracy. It's not necessarily credible.
You need to be just as wary as Agence France when you're writing. Find a source, ask questions, be skeptical. If you can't verify, then don't include it in your copy. Adhere to this journalism maxim: "When in doubt, leave it out."
2 comments:
I agree -- if you can't verify information, then manage to do without it. Agence France Presse has banned its reporters from using information from wikis or Facebook because one of their reporters seriously misquoted slain former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto's son's comments about Islam. The reporter lifted the quotes from Bhutto's son's Facebook profile, which turned out to be a fake.
See my post about it at http://reichcomm.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/01/social-media-an.html
The instance Dave cites is a good example of the unreliabilty of these sites for important communications like news reports. That's not to say they're of no use. I often check Wikipedia for an overview of some topic, but not as primary source material.
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