Need to verify information on social media...

Journalists should be sceptical when obtaining information, especially on social media sites which are mostly untrue, says a professor of journalism.

Caxton Professor of Journalism, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Anton Harber said although social media had made people become media conscious and gave everyone a voice, the risks could be dangerous or damaging to the parties involved when untrue stories were spread.

"Don't just believe anything you read, but question it and see if it (information) is verified. Does it come from someone you trust, has credibility and has shown a record of verification and truth?" he said.

Harber said this after giving a talk about a recently-launched book entitled, '100 Years of Investigative Journalism From Around The World – Global Muckraking', with its editor Anya Schiffrin at Wisma Bernama today.

Meanwhile, Schiffrin who is also director of the Media and Communications Programme, Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, New York said apart from being sceptical, some journalists might also create speculation in the process of getting an idea for their news coverage.

"Speculation is inevitable. It is part of journalism and some stories started from speculation because they could not verify and did not have enough information on it," she said while commenting on the Malaysia Airlines flights MH370 and MH17 incidents which were often speculated upon by the media.

However, the news report on the incident must be extremely careful, according to verification, documentation and truth because incorrect information could be hurtful to the families, added Schiffrin.

Flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17 as it was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with 283 passengers and 15 crew on board. It was believed to have been shot down over the troubled country.

Flight MH370 disappeared from the radar on March 8 as it flew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 227 passengers and 12 crew on board.

Its flight path was believed to have ended in the southern Indian Ocean.

-- BERNAMA