Top 10 typical cases of fake news in 2014

●Major events reveal shortcomings

●Case: The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370

Publication date is from March 8, 2014

"News" After the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, due to the lack of authoritative information sources, information from the central media to local media was flying around, leaving people confused. Among them, the more typical and widely circulated rumors are mainly divided into several categories:

The miracle of survival category - At 14:28 on March 8, the "Chengdu Evening News" media Weibo used several exclamation points to win people over Eyeball: "'Landing!!!!' The general manager of Malaysia Airlines spoke on the spot. The flight has been confirmed to have landed in Nanning, Vietnam." That night, some media reported that MH370 was discovered by a Philippine maritime ship that was performing a search and rescue mission. The aircraft's fuselage was severely damaged when it was discovered, but it did not disintegrate. The level of casualties may be far lower than previously expected;

Search progress category - According to reports, on the morning of the 8th, the Nanhai Rescue Bureau of the Ministry of Transport Two search and rescue ships set off from Xisha and Haikou at 10:49 and 11:30 respectively to carry out search and rescue work in the South China Sea.

Cause of the accident - Two people on the missing flight used the passports of an Italian passenger and an Austrian passenger to get on the plane, causing the flight to be attacked by a terrorist attack. At a press conference held by Malaysia Airlines, Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin said that four passengers were suspected of using false information to board the flight, including the two previously exposed Austrian and Italian passengers.

Plane crash category - "Yangcheng Evening News" and many other media outlets announced on Weibo that according to CNN reports, Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has been determined to have crashed 100 kilometers north of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

The "Truth Seeking" column of the People's Daily Online published "Review of False Rumors about the Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight" on March 10, clarifying 7 fake news about the missing flight.

① "Vietnamese search and rescue personnel discovered the signal of the missing passenger plane" is untrue. It was later confirmed that the signal discovery location reported by Vietnamese media was the last location of the aircraft before contact was lost.

② "Boeing China President said the plane has been found" is untrue. Previously, Boeing China President Ma Ailun @小马哥爱747 said that the aircraft had been found and the Boeing technical team was on its way to assist in the investigation. Since then, Boeing China President Ma Ailun @小马哥爱747 deleted the Weibo and said that "the plane has been found" was wrong news, and the search is still continuing.

③ "MH370 flight was discovered by a Philippine maritime ship" is untrue. As confirmed by Vietnam News Agency reporter Le Dung Ha, the Vietnam News Agency did not publish this report. There are no relevant reports on the Vietnam News Agency website. The statement that "MH370 flight was discovered by a Philippine maritime ship" is untrue.

④ "The missing plane was discovered by a Philippine maritime ship" is untrue. This text message is a "Titanic-style" joke made up by Tianya netizen "Batistuta" on the evening of March 8.

⑤ "Two search and rescue ships of the South China Sea Rescue Bureau went to search and rescue on the morning of March 8" is untrue. The South China Sea Rescue Bureau stated that the search and rescue ship was heading from the shore to the anchorage, not for search and rescue. At that time, the three search and rescue ships of the South China Sea Rescue Bureau were still on standby.

⑥The Internet rumor that "Malaysian Airlines made an emergency landing in Nanning" is untrue. On the 8th, in response to online rumors that a Malaysia Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Nanning, both Nanning, Guangxi and the local Longdongbao Airport denied that the Malaysia Airlines flight landed here.

⑦CNN did not release news about the crash of the missing passenger plane.

When major emergencies occur, it is difficult to avoid the spread of various false information. And when the media participates in spreading it, it is even more difficult to distinguish between true and false information. It is worth noting that this type of event is often accompanied by a large amount of misinformation in the early stages of reporting, and is constantly corrected and updated in subsequent reports. This industry reality may prompt us to update our usual understanding of fake news. . Journalists' use of Internet tools such as social media for reporting and information gathering has become a new work routine (news routine). At the same time, it has also made the media's mistakes more prominent and visible, which has triggered external concerns about the authority of journalism. doubts.

As a "special" disaster event without a "scene" of the incident, the Malaysia Airlines incident has been focused on by the Chinese media because of its strong correlation with China. However, in the face of uncertain news facts, a strange transnational and cross-cultural environment, international and domestic The fierce competition among news media has highlighted the shortcomings of Chinese media, and the answers submitted are difficult to satisfy.

●The media was deceived without noticing

●Case: Guo Meimei owes 260 million in gambling debts in Macau

Published on April 8, 2014

On April 8, "News", some domestic print media and authoritative media websites forwarded reports from Hong Kong media based on "online transmission", saying that a debt collection website uploaded a photo of "Guo Meimei". It pointed out that a Hunan woman "Guo Meimei" who was born in 1991 has been in arrears of 260 million yuan since the year before last and has not yet paid it off. It was also revealed that some people said that a boss would repay the money for her, but unfortunately the creditor has not yet received repayment. Guo Meimei, the woman who once claimed to be a senior official of the Red Cross Society of China and caused a storm in the city by flaunting her wealth, has become a news figure again.

The truth: On July 9, 2014, Guo Meimei was arrested by the Beijing police for allegedly gambling online during the World Cup. On August 4, CCTV News Channel’s "Internet Celebrity Guo Meimei" pointed out that "Guo "Meimei Macau owes 260 million in gambling debt" is a hype. The police found out that this was purely fake news.

Comments Since 2011, when she caused an uproar by showing off her wealth on Weibo as the "Commercial General Manager of the Red Cross Society of China", Guo Meimei has become familiar with obtaining profits through speculation. In the news broadcast by CCTV, the police stated that whether it was hyping the Red Cross, "260 million gambling debts", and the online movie "My Name is Guo Meimei" tailored for Guo Meimei, or even Guo Meimei was arrested for gambling. After his arrest, when his mother cooperated with the Beijing police investigation, false news such as "Guo's mother flew back from Japan overnight" appeared on the Internet, and it was suspected that there was someone behind the scenes for online hype. In every Internet hype, there is no lack of active participation of a large number of media, and they are willing to be the instigators in the process of "making" Guo Meimei an Internet celebrity. It is despicable and pathetic!

●A combination of circumstances led to a passive situation

●Case: Gyeonggi gutter oil black industry chain

Published on May 14, 2014

"News" On May 14, a national news website launched the "Where did the gutter oil go?" A series of reports on the Gutter Oil Black Industry Chain in Gyeonggi Province. According to the report, the reporter conducted an undercover investigation for more than a month and found that a gutter oil production chain is still operating secretly and efficiently in the Gyeonggi area. After the reporter followed the gutter oil all the way, it was discovered that the tank truck carrying suspected gutter oil finally entered the factory of Kerry Cereals and Oils (Tianjin) Co., Ltd., which owns Yihai Kerry, which owns edible oil brands such as "Golden Arowana".

The truth: On May 15, Yihai Kerry held a press conference, saying that reporters mistook "Kerry Oleochemicals (Tianjin) Industrial Co., Ltd." for the "Kerry Cereals and Oils (Tianjin)" next door. Ltd.", the disposal of waste grease is the former's normal business.

On May 20, a reporter from this website issued a statement admitting that his report "accidentally misreported Kerry Oleochemicals (Tianjin) Industrial Co., Ltd. as Kerry Cereals and Oils (Tianjin) Co., Ltd." and apologized.

Comments: This report was originally a rare investigative report that served the interests of the public. However, because the reporter got the name of the company involved wrong, the focus of subsequent reports became the mistakenly named company. How the company protects its reputation has deviated from the original intention of the report, consuming media resources for no reason, and leaving nothing but feathers. We have no way of knowing how the reporter got the two companies wrong. This "accident" had a huge impact on the named company, so that the company had to spend a lot of effort to clarify. But judging from the reports, it seems that it is not difficult to figure out the business scope of the two companies. This case once again reminds us how important it is to verify and verify news facts. If we do it well, we can avoid harming innocent people and protect the media itself.

●Backfire on integrity

●Case: The inspirational story of orphan Yang Liujin

Published on May 23, 2014

"News" On May 23, a Guangxi TV channel's public welfare program "First Secretary" broadcast the story of the inspirational child Yang Liujin. The program said: Yang Liujin, 12 years old, is from De'e Township, Longlin County, Guangxi. His father passed away, and his mother took her younger brother to remarry. Due to his father's obstruction, Yang Liujin continued to live with his grandparents. After his grandparents passed away, Yang Liujin lived alone in an empty house provided by relatives. I receive 10 yuan of living expenses and pocket money from my cousin every week. He has a particularly strong ability to survive. He often eats wild vegetables to satisfy his hunger, and also makes his own tools to catch fish, which is regarded as meat and vegetables.

The truth: On June 27, "Southern Metropolis Daily" published a report after a reporter visited Guangxi, "Yang Liujin's life experience is pitiful, but he is not as helpless as in the show", pointing out that in this show 3 untruths:

First, the age is misreported. Yang Mingzhi, member of the Standing Committee of the County Party Committee and Propaganda Minister of Longlin County, Guangxi, said in an interview that Yang Liujin is 14 years old and not 12 years old as stated on the TV program.

Second, the statement of living alone for 5 years is inaccurate. The actual situation is that after his grandfather passed away in May 2012, Yang Liujin went to Shangmapaitun, Xinjie Village, De'e Town in July 2012 to live with his uncle, and later moved to live with his cousin Yang Qulin's house. His cousin stayed at home until this year He only went out to work in March, and his life of living alone only started in March this year. Yang Liujin lived on campus five days a week and only returned to his cousin's house on weekends. By the time the TV show was broadcast, the total time he had lived alone did not exceed 25 days.

Third, the idea of ??eating green grass is wrong. Local students told Nandu reporters that Yang Liujin was eating scissor vegetables on TV, a wild vegetable often eaten by local residents. Yang Jiayong, the principal of Xinjie Wan Primary School, said that according to regulations, Yang Liujin enjoys national policy subsidies and eats three meals a day at school. The daily food standard is about 8 yuan. He basically has meat and vegetables every day, and his life at school is still guaranteed. of.

Comments: This public welfare report that seems to promote positive energy has caused a lot of controversy. A direct cause is naturally the flaws in the TV program. Specifically, the main reason is that reporters consciously exaggerate some facts. The director of the TV channel said that the reason why the reporter said "Yang Liujin lived alone for 5 years" was because the reporter wanted to help him and make everyone sympathize with him more, but did not dig deep enough, which resulted in the misrepresentation. In addition to subjective considerations, some work routines of TV programs also contribute to the situation. For example, the TV filmed scenes of Yang Liujin eating wild vegetables and fishing, restoring his previous life, trying to use a limited time to express the child's hard work and hard work in a high concentration. Inspiring and uplifting. The TV station believes that this is the basic method of TV shooting and is not "staged" or "acting".

Although the subsequent clarification statement repeatedly emphasized the motivation of the program and downplayed the operational flaws, as some netizens pointed out, although the reporter exaggerated the reporting of Yang Liujin’s life experience out of Good intentions, but this kind of good intentions touches the two bottom lines of news reporting and charity integrity.

●Zhang Guanli Dai made a joke

●Case: The incident of a man who touched porcelain was brutally run over by a female driver

Published on July 22, 2014

"News" reported on July 22 that a half-page report was "A female driver ran over a man who was having sex..." and reported: A paragraph titled "A man who was having sex was run over by a female driver..." The video of "Rolling" is widely circulated on the Internet. The man in the video suddenly fell to the ground on the left front of a vehicle that was slowly entering the intersection. The female driver looked left and right before running over her. The incident was filmed by a driving recorder installed on the passing vehicle. The video quickly aroused heated discussions among netizens after it was released.

In addition, many domestic media have also reprinted or reported on it, and asked traffic police and legal experts to interpret it, which has triggered a heated discussion about whether the female driver is responsible and how much responsibility should be imposed. .

The truth: On July 24, "Southern Metropolis Daily" pointed out that after verification, "the man was crushed" happened in South Korea, and the video originally came from a British video website.

On July 25, "People's Daily" confirmed that the video titled "Ms. Kim VS Self-harm Intimidation Group" was posted by netizen "pd yoon" on July 19.

The video mentioned in the review report was first circulated on the Internet. A certain newspaper's report did not question the authenticity of the video at all, but only quoted some netizens' words. This is a common operating method used by many media nowadays. The clues for topic selection come from the Internet. The reporter does not conduct any interviews and deliberately "omits" the five W's. He only collects comments from some netizens and prepares a manuscript. . Follow-up reports by some media also did not cast doubt on the authenticity of the video, and even asked the traffic police and legal experts to do an "interpretation" to discuss the issue of responsibility. In fact, reporters can see many clues by carefully watching the video. At least they will not make the low-level mistake of treating foreign events as domestic news.

●People who cracked down on counterfeiting but misrepresented the truth were “beaten”

●Case: Muddy Water Instant Noodles Incident

Published on August 5, 2014

"News" On the afternoon of August 4, a reporter from the Central People's Broadcasting Station "Voice of China" who was in the earthquake-stricken area of ??Zhaotong, Yunnan, sent back a report saying: Longquan Middle School in Longtoushan Town, the epicenter of the earthquake, is currently short of food and can only eat food delivered from outside. The incoming instant noodles, groundwater and tap water are now relatively turbid due to the earthquake. Currently, rescue workers can only use muddy water for instant noodles for cooking.

In the middle of the night on August 5, a newspaper website published a report, "Disaster Relief Force: Muddy Water Instant Noodles are not true, don't believe them and hurt the morale of the front line", announcing that "Muddy Water Instant Noodles" was fake news. The article reads: When the reporter of this newspaper asked the frontline disaster relief force for verification on the 5th, he learned that this was fake news. A person in charge of the forward disaster relief force confirmed that after verification, no relevant incidents were found during the disaster relief process. He appealed to the troops at the front who are selflessly doing their best to provide disaster relief. He asked the troops behind the scenes not to misunderstand such pictures with ulterior motives, so as not to damage the morale of the disaster relief troops.

After the truth was published in this "anti-counterfeiting" report, public opinion suddenly reversed, and netizens accused the media that had previously published "Muddy Water Instant Noodles." However, "Voice of China", which was the first to publish the news, emphasized that the incident was " witnessed by CCTV reporter Li Tengfei with his own eyes. The troops asked him to eat only noodles without soup, and he and his colleagues all ate it." Voice of China also criticized the "anti-fake" reporter who was not at the scene of the disaster area, but concluded that it was "fake news", which violated the principles of journalism, saying that the other party had no right to speak without investigation.

At about 9 a.m. on August 6, Hao Junshi, deputy director of the News Department of the newspaper’s website, issued an apology statement, admitting that the "Muddy Water Instant Noodles" incident did occur: After watching the video, the troops did eat Muddy Water Instant Noodles. , the logistics are organized by the locals, not the food cooked by the troops, the muddy water is tap water, and disinfectant tablets are put in it.

Comment: This is the most dramatic “fake news incident” in 2014. The flaws in this “anti-fake” news operation are clear at a glance. But what is more worth exploring is his motive for "fighting counterfeiting." "Political correctness" in earthquake relief seems to be more important, so much so that there were omissions in the interview, and in the report, "Please do not misunderstand such pictures with ulterior motives." , so as not to damage the morale of the disaster relief force." This is probably a question worth thinking about.

●Improper reporting caused controversy

●Case: Maternal death incident at Xiangtan County Maternal and Child Health Hospital

Published on August 12, 2014

"News" on August 12th, a Hunan news website published a report on "Xiangtan maternal death on the operating table". The report stated: On the afternoon of August 10th, a woman surnamed Zhang from the Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Xiangtan County, Hunan Province The mother died due to postoperative hemorrhage during a caesarean section. The family members believe that "she died abnormally, and the hospital has a great responsibility. If she had been discovered in time, she would not have died, and it would not have been hidden from us for so long." The report also described this: "(The mother) was lying naked on the operating table with blood in her mouth and tears in her eyes, but she was no longer breathing, and the doctors and nurses who were supposed to be rescuing her were all missing. "The news was subsequently widely reprinted by online and traditional media across the country.

The truth: At around 14:00 on August 13, Xiangtan County’s official Weibo reported the matter, saying that after the fetus was delivered, the fetus suffered from vomiting and coughing. It was initially diagnosed as "amniotic fluid embolism", and the hospital immediately started treatment. There were green channels for maternal rescue at the hospital, county and city, and relevant city and county experts presided over the rescue. However, due to multiple organ failure caused by amniotic fluid embolism, she died at 21:30 after all-out rescue efforts failed.

At about 16:00 on August 13, Qi Xianqiang, deputy director of the Xiangtan County Health Bureau, responded to media reporters that "all the medical staff who were supposed to be rescuing the mother were missing", saying that the medical staff rescued the mother after her heartbeat stopped. It took half an hour to give up. After the hospital announced his death, dozens of emotionally excited family members gathered outside the operating room. When the family members rushed into the operating room, the medical staff were in the lounge. It was not "all missing."

On August 16, the person in charge of the Xiangtan County Health Bureau stated that from the perspective of the entire medical procedure, the hospital should have fulfilled its responsibilities as a hospital.

Commentary: The reason why the doctor-patient conflict has become a prominent issue in Chinese society today is that the media undoubtedly plays a role that cannot be underestimated. The news coverage of this incident is a clear example. When the facts are not yet clear, the media is eager to characterize the incident and unilaterally adopts the patient's side of the story. The voice of the other party involved is absent, and the report loses balance and objectivity. Moreover, some words with clear emotional color are frequently used in the writing, such as "tears", "tragic death", etc., which means that the hospital is cold-blooded and indifferent to the lives of patients, which is prone to inappropriate hints and associations, and for the consequences of The real cause of this maternal death, "amniotic fluid embolism," was shielded and ignored. Of course, this does not mean that the hospital has no responsibility. As a media, what is needed is to present the process of the incident objectively and comprehensively. How to characterize the incident is the work of the relevant professional departments. In fact, in many similar doctor-patient disputes, we can often see almost the same "offside" behavior by the media. As the People's Daily commented in the article "Pay attention to doctor-patient disputes, please don't jump to conclusions easily", human lives are at stake, so don't jump to conclusions and determine responsibilities easily.

●Visual image misunderstood

●Case: A foreigner fainted in Shanghai subway and no passenger could help him

Published on August 20, 2014

"News" On August 20, a Shanghai newspaper published a report, "Shanghai Metro disclosed two typical cases of blind panic among passengers, foreigners fainted, and everyone in the carriage ran away" stating that at 9:34 pm on August 9 , a male foreign passenger suddenly slowly fell to the right when the train was about to enter Jinke Road Station, with his head almost touching the shoulder of the middle-aged female passenger next to him. Within the next few seconds, he first lay down on his seat, then fell to the ground as the train braked and slowed down, seemingly unconscious. Seeing this, the five passengers on the opposite seat suddenly got up and fled. In less than 10 seconds, the carriage was empty except for the foreigner who had fainted on the ground.

The truth: On August 20, the Weibo account "Xinmin Evening News Xinmin.com" released: Shanghai Metro clarified: It is not true that no one helped. The Shanghai Metro confirmed that the passengers were panicked because of the sudden situation and were unable to react in time. But when the train entered the station, the passengers who ran out of the carriage immediately sought help from the station attendant, who also got on the train in time to rescue the foreign passengers.

On August 21, the 15th page of "People's Daily" also published "The statement that a foreign passenger fainted in Shanghai subway and "no one helped him" is untrue." The report stated that according to the surveillance video provided by the Shanghai subway operator It shows that due to the suddenness of the incident, the first reaction of the surrounding passengers was to avoid immediately and run to the following carriages. Because they didn't understand the specific situation, they saw passengers running towards them. Passengers in the subsequent carriages were also affected by this panic atmosphere and rushed out of the carriages after the train stopped. However, after leaving the carriage, enthusiastic passengers immediately found the station attendant on duty on the platform, described the emergency situation in the carriage and asked for help. Subsequently, the station attendant quickly arrived at the car where the incident occurred and prepared to launch rescue operations. By this time, the fainted foreign passenger had woken up and got up and left on his own.

Comments: False news caused by videos and pictures has occurred frequently in recent years. A very important factor is that people can interpret videos or pictures from different angles. When interpreting these videos or pictures, reporters focus more on their news value.

Regarding this incident that occurred in a Shanghai subway car, the fact that a foreign passenger fainted and was helped by others also has certain news value, but compared with the angle presented in the initial report, the latter has more room for imagination. Just imagine, a foreigner fainted in the carriage and the Chinese people fled in all directions. Wouldn’t it become another typical example of social apathy? Wouldn’t it be more valuable for communication?

It is worth noting that in recent years, with the continuous increase in subway construction in major domestic cities, the subway has become a very important activity place for the urban population. News that happens in the subway and businesses in the subway The number of business planning activities has also increased significantly. Subway operations have a certain degree of professionalism. When faced with similar incidents in the future, reporters should still seek verification from multiple sources and listen to what professionals have to say.

●Unscrupulous company’s hype

●Case: Post-95 female netizen trades her body for travel

Published on October 23, 2014

"News" On October 23, a certain newspaper published a full page of news: "Post-95 women "trade their bodies to travel across the country" to recruit temporary boyfriends wherever they go." According to the report, a female netizen who calls herself "Cute Girl born in 1995" posted on the Internet "Travel with the body: Cute girl born in 1995 is soliciting temporary boyfriends from all over the country to accompany her on the trip!" "In one post, he publicly announced his plan to "travel to China for zero yuan": he launched a solicitation for "temporary boyfriends" from netizens. The article stated the content of the online post in detail, and also listed the comments from netizens under the online post. Finally, it warned readers that "traveling, eating and sleeping is risky, and girls should not try it easily." This story, which was originally circulated on Weibo and online forums, finally appeared on the pages of traditional media, and was subsequently forwarded by a large number of authoritative media websites.

The truth: On October 23, the self-media Weibo account "Media Observation" posted on Weibo: "It has been initially confirmed that this is still a fake news hype of a certain social software suspected of pornographic marketing. We are collecting more evidence. Report to the public security organs and Internet management departments. All major 'authoritative' media are advised to respect themselves."

On October 28, the "Youjia" software mentioned in the "Body Exchange Travel" report was banned by the National Cyberspace Administration. As "suspected of spreading obscene, pornographic and vulgar information," the Office suspended access to services, ordered rectification, and notified major application stores to remove the software. At the same time, it is coordinating with relevant departments to investigate and deal with relevant units and responsible persons in accordance with the law.

Comments It turns out that this is an attempt by a software company to use the influence of pornography to create news hype to promote the social software it developed. Moreover, this company has previously concocted a piece of fake news about "excavator shaking", which can be called a "recidivist" with a criminal record. In order to promote its products, this company caters to Internet hot spots, conducts vulgar marketing, and deliberately concocts false news. It should be severely punished.

This traditional media, exploited by unscrupulous companies, devoted a whole page to reporting on "Cute girls born in 1995 trade their bodies for travel." Post-95s, cute girls, and bodies, the news headlines are full of These imaginative words create a piece of news that is both false and vulgar. After the report was published, some well-known news websites also followed up and "contributed" to the spread of this fake news. These media outlets that do not distinguish authenticity and spare no effort in spreading fake news should also think about, even if this is real news, what values ??do newspapers and websites want to express?

"News" On October 28, a news website published "Chinese cities "exited" the list of the 20 cities with the worst air quality in the world." The report stated that China "fell off the list" of the 20 cities with the worst air quality. According to the ranking data of WHO's "2014 Urban Outdoor Air Pollution Database", half of the 20 cities with the highest PM2.5 values ??are from India, and the remaining cities are from countries such as Pakistan and Iran. The database includes public online data from 1,600 cities in 91 countries around the world, with a time span from 2008 to 2013. CNN reported that among the 20 cities, not a single Chinese city was on the list. Although many cities in China are shrouded in thick gray smog, millions of residents wear masks when going out.

The truth On October 29, the Internet began to refute the rumors. People familiar with the matter pointed out that the WHO has not compiled a ranking of the 20 cities with the worst air in the world. The WHO does have an "Urban Outdoor Air Pollution Database", with the latest data published in May 2014. In this database, only the measured values ??(or estimated values) of PM10 and PM2.5 in some cities in a certain year are recorded. The WHO did not make a ranking based on these data. In fact, it is impossible to make a ranking because the data is incomplete and not comparable.

Comments China’s environmental quality has been criticized for many years. Whenever smog breaks out, various jokes are circulated on the Internet, which reflects the Chinese people’s concern for environmental issues. The media has also begun to regard it as an important reporting topic. Some media have set up green news sections and have dedicated reporters. It should be said that this article "Chinese cities "exit" from the list of the 20 cities with the worst air quality in the world" captured the news points of social concern. However, because the reporter was not careful enough in using relevant data, a wrong message was spread, which was against the rules. The truth.