Citizen Journalism at its Worst

A false report that Steve Jobs had suffered a heart attack appeared on iReport, a CNN feature that allows people to post their own news in forms of video, articles, blogs.  A.k.a citizen journalism.  This report from Techcrunch explains the problems associated with citizen journalists.  It is unclear if the false “journalist” was “just a short seller trying to make a quick buck, or someone trying to see how fast and far they could spread a false rumor.”  However, this should not hamper citizen journalism because it is so widely used and helpful to many.  This is because news can arrive more quickly from a citizen journalist who is already at the seen.  One incident such as this should make some people wary of the risk of false news but in no should this drive away those who use citizen information on a daily basis.

~ by nelsonpa on October 6, 2008.