In the new age of Social Media our source for information has increased drastically. We can now receive news in real-time. We can be in the middle of a natural disaster, war, celebration or any world-changing event by merely tweeting a picture or video. Social networking can easily be considered one of the greatest inventions in our lifetime but is it always a good source for news? Is quoting Twitter real journalism?
There have been many arguments over this topic, especially in the entertainment industry. Many online news sources have created full stories based on one celebrity tweet. Some may be relevant to a hot topic but I’ve seen plenty that seem to just be filler for a slow news day. Citing Twitter as a source is not only lazy, but if you ever tried to follow a conversation on someones time line you’d be hard pressed to get the information correct. The conversations on Twitter can run deep and contain more arteries than the human body. To actually find the birth of a tweet is next to impossible. In reality, if a journalist were to master the skill of locating the originator of all the tweets they use to build a story than their work deserves a Pulitzer. I’m certainly not saying all Tweets are like that but I’ve read enough articles that have been completely wrong. I once read a tweet from NME magazine quoting Nathan Followill @Doctorfollowll from the Kings of Leon but the quote was from his brother Jared Followill @Youngfollowill. NME went on to write an entire article based on the tweet.
This brings up another interesting point. Are celebrities responsible for what they say? Are they being criticised for voicing there opinions on Twitter or expressing their feelings/problems with their Twitter friends? Sinead O’Connor made the headlines for sharing her recent emotional collapse on Twitter and Kanye tweeted a Jerry Maguire type mission statement on changing the world in 140 characters around 80 times. Should they know better? The fact is the media is lurking. They are the new paparazzi. (Twaparazzi?). If you don’t want the backlash your best bet is to keep that stuff to yourself. When you’re out drinking leave the iPhone at home because the difference between paparazzi and twaparazzi are the repercussions you get from your fans and the haters in real-time. There’s no spin doctor their to clean up the mess. Everybody sees it and they’ll respond as fast as those unfortunate words fell from your lips.
Their needs to be tighter reigns on what is considered a credible news source. A News show should not be citing Twitter without fact checking first and the public should avoid articles that base full articles around one tweet. What do you think about journalists using social networks as news sources? Share your opinion in comments.
