Last week I wrote about the importance of checking your facts before passing on information. However, I should probably have also mentioned that the source you use to check those facts is important. Confirming one Facebook posting by using another does not count. Also, a little common sense goes a long way towards keeping you out of trouble.
One of our local TV stations found this out the hard way last week. In my former life as Director of Emergency Services, I came to know many of the reporters and news editors here in the San Francisco Bay Area and, almost without exception, I found them committed to factual and accurate reporting. This station is no different. When they found themselves in possession of information that had the potential to be a "scoop," they checked it with a credible source and then ran the story.
The "scoop" was a list of the names of the Korean pilots of the Asiana Airlines flight that crashed at San Francisco International Airport last week. The station is not saying where they got the names, but I suspect it was from a social media posting. The station contacted the National Transportation Safety Board which confirmed the names. The station then aired a report complete with graphics identifying the pilots.
So what's the problem? Didn't the station do what was expected by confirming the information with a credible source?
The key is the word "credible." The person who answered the phone at the NTSB was a summer intern who was trying to be helpful and confirmed the names, even though he didn't know them. But it shouldn't never have gotten that far. The list of names was: Sum Ting Wong, Wi Tu Lo, Ho Lee Fuk, and Bang Ding Ow. Whoever thought that these were real names is probably polishing their resume and should consider some sensitivity training. The NTSB is most likely looking at the training it provides interns. And there are already plenty of jokes about newscasters reading whatever is on the teleprompter.
It would almost be funny if it weren't for the consequences. A television station that touts its accurate coverage has had its reputation tarnished and is suffering extreme embarassment. Worse, Asiana Airlines is suing the station over its "racially discriminatory report" and is considering suing the NTSB.
So when doing your fact checking, don't neglect to use a bit of common sense. If the story seems too good to be true, it probably is. And in checking facts, make sure you know who is answering the phone. It just might be the janitor.
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