Unpopular Opinion

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Journalists and news platforms should be held accountable for the accuracy of their speculative articles (feddit.uk)

submitted 3 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

9 comments fedilink hide all child comments

If someone writes about things they think will happen, but those things never materialize, they shouldn’t just get to brush it under the rug and act like they never said it. You’ve made millions of people worried over literally nothing. That should come with reputational consequences - not just for the journalist, but also for the platform that amplified their speculation.

Now obviously, there are things worth writing about even when many unknowns remain. But in those cases, acknowledge the uncertainty - lay out the improbable worst-case scenario, the more likely outcome, and the possibility that the whole issue might just fade away. Just don’t present speculation as certainty when you can’t possibly know, or if you do then own it.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I've been saying this for years. News is news, but media is media. And just like the difference between an artistic nude and pornography, you know what it is when you see it.

I don't think that news organizations should be allowed to broadcast Propaganda media without consequence, At the very least, they should be required to be transparent when they are not reporting what they believe to be factual truth.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Yeah, I just don’t know how society would go about enforcing this. I feel like there should be some kind of "This We Were Wrong About" tab or a way to look up individual journalists and see their track record. That way, if someone makes big claims, you could check whether they have a history of doing so and what their success rate has been.

It would work both ways too - if someone frequently makes bold predictions but has been right many times before, maybe their views should carry more weight.