News sometimes kills

Nowadays news and information about pretty much anything seems like a simple click away provided that you have a stable connection to the internet and a piece of technology that will provide the required function. However convenient that may seem to you and me, a simple predicament which seems to plague the users and readers of the social media news is that predicament of accuracy and truth in reportage.

You can’t kill the truth is what they usually say. But in today’s mass media, where news is pretty much everywhere, one can’t simply identify what the truth in news really is especially when the news starts spreading in a chaotic and forsaken time such as the arrival of Typhoon Yolanda or Haiyan, where the truth pretty much dies.

In light of the recent devastation, numerous articles from different blogging and “news” sites have risen from their slumber as a handful number of social media users clicked the share button without even thinking of taking a step back and verifying the credibility of the news that they are about to share to their contacts, friends, followers, and even the friends of their friends.

Articles regarding an alleged politician capitalizing on relief goods by advertising his or her name during Typhoon Ondoy last 2009 resurfaced with the users pointing fingers at the officials of today without even noticing that the article was published back in 2009. This article caused a social media uproar that took priority over the sharing articles that are actually relevant.

Other news that took over the feed during the typhoon’s wake included a reporter who turned into a “superhero” of some sort, a question of biases between a local and an international news anchor, and the usual news that questions the readiness of our government. What’s even interesting about this kind of sensationalism is the fact that a government official, in an interview, asked international channels to focus on covering stories about hope. Now don’t get me wrong, stories about hope are powerful and needed, but when children are left standing cold and hungry with their dead parents at their feet, I think asking the international media to focus on just hope is not the proper way of utilizing the information broadcast.

To be fair on both sides, some local news sites delivered some useful bits of information that assist their readers and the victims of the tragedy. On the other hand, the government seemed to do their part over the course of the matter even if critics never stopped on bashing them from all directions.

The question that I pose is one of inquiry over the traffic of information flooding online especially in a state of emergency. Is it necessary for social media users to post, rant, and share articles while criticizing the government’s actions, when the time to disseminate useful and life saving information should be at the top of the news feed? Is it necessary for media sites to capitalize and sensationalize on an anchor’s five seconds of fame or an anchor’s commentary on a news coverage to earn ratings and viewers when they are needed at the helm of information distribution as death in the form of a typhoon knocks on the country’s doorstep? Are we sharing articles for the sake of spreading information that may save someone’s life or are we only sharing articles for the sake of joining the bandwagon of critics who instead of distributing knowledge, distributes chaos and rile up an unforgiving civil society during the rage of the typhoon?

When all’s said and done, as the catastrophe moves out, and everyone reverts back to their usual lifestyle, ask yourself this: did the media really do their job of delivering useful news and information to the public or did the media fall short of the useful things to deliver when everyone needed them the most?

I choose the latter. Media sites, sadly, failed in delivering useful news due to the fact that they did not publish the information that their viewers needed in order to help and assist in the circulation of data. What they did publish, however, were of articles on how awesome their anchors were and how despicable the government really is when it comes to relief operations or disaster preventive measures.

It is with deep regret that thousands of our brothers and sisters in the Visayas were tragically laid to rest after Typhoon Yolanda.  But it is also with deeper regret that us who are miles away from devastation and chaos were unable to maximize the potential of media to possibly save more in the time when they needed us the most.

We are a nation with a penchant for gathering and working together, especially in dire times. So do your research. Do your homework. Learn what social media and news can do to your country when it is needed the most. Although then again, as the holidays approach day by day, maybe hope is what we really need, and not ranting and self-plugging.