Rumours, Lies and Innuendo Spread Far, Wide and Fast on The Internet

This week assignment is about Rumours, Lies and Innuendo Spread Far, Wide and Fast on The Internet in other word how you often take what is on the Internet as TRUTH with our thinking much about it.
From this picture we've been told to not believe information from internet because we don't know exactly who make the article. But from my opinion we can't 100% not believe to internet's article, because not all the information just a hoax. 

I do a lot using internet's article as my research and reference for my assignment because it's the easiest way to finishing it rather searching it on book or magazine or another sources and all this time I found that the accuracy of the article is quite good. It helps me a lot in my work and my daily life to know about world.
for an example, 
I live far away from my parents, suddenly I can't call my parents. I immediately looking twitter to found an information and then I saw a tweet about my city and I found why I can't call my parents. 
What we have to do, we have to evaluate the information from internet. here some question you have to ask yourself when you want take something from internet.


about the author

• Is the name of the author/creator on the page?
• Are his/her credentials listed (occupation, years of experience, position or education)?
• Is the author qualified to write on the given topic? Why?
• Is there contact information, such as an email address, somewhere on the page?
• Is there a link to a homepage?
• If there is a link to a homepage, is it for an individual or for an organization?
• If the author is with an organization, does it appear to support or sponsor the page?
• What does the domain name/URL reveal about the source of the information, if anything?
• If the owner is not identified, what can you tell about the origin of the site from the address?

accuracy

• Are the sources for factual information clearly listed so that the information can be verified?
• Is it clear who has the ultimate responsibility for the accuracy of the content of the material?
• Can you verify any of the information in independent sources or from your own knowledge?
• Has the information been reviewed or refereed?
• Is the information free of grammatical, spelling, or typographical errors?

Rumours, Lies and Innuendo Spread Far, Wide and Fast on The Internet

From the picture above, you can see how you can't always believe every news that you read on the internet. Everyone in the world can easily post and spread news on the internet. Nowadays people becoming easy and easier to believe whatever news they got from the internet without checking the truth and just simply spread it out to everyone.

What we’re seeing, more and more, is not so much a pursuit of truthful, fact based, resource-supported content – but instead a heavy emphasis on the “now” – the latest news, the hottest, most popular buzz-worthy content we can get our hands on.

This is the way our society in general is programmed to think – this is the type of content that “sells” and gets people talking. But what we’re seeing is a total blur of what’s truthful and what isn’t – content manufactured simply to create a buzz. And what’s scary is we’re starting to almost not care about honesty – it’s increasingly becoming more about who said it and where they said it. The online world has become one big “who you gonna’ believe?” popularity contest. I want out.

Paraphrasing, Ted Koppel praised the Internet for what it has done and continues to do with the sharing of information, but also criticised it in an almost fearful way, stating that in today’s online world, there’s no way to truly know who these ‘information sharers’ are or what there intent is. We can’t say beyond a shadow of a doubt that what anyone is saying online is true (of course the same can be said for “traditional” media) but it’s much more prevalent in the online world.

(http://www.lifewithoutpants.com/blogging/how-much-do-you-care-about-the-truth/)

Do you often take what is on the Internet as TRUTH with our thinking much about it?


NO!  Why not? I never believe in everything that i read on the internet. When i try to search some information on internet, i'll try to search from more than 5 sources. Even when the website state as the "real" source, i won't believe in everything. There's a lot source that people easily believe in and simply spread the news, and try to make people believe in that news. Sometime, i found it really annoying and just try to not believe on that news.

Rumours, Lies and Innuendo Spread Far, Wide and Fast on The Internet

From the image above, you can conclude that you should not believe anything you read from the internet, although it is from a large or trusted site. Because everybody can publish anything on the internet, but the problem is today’s most people are not prepare to critically evaluate the information they find there. They just believe anything directly. I meant when people looking for an article and search it on Google, they will click on the first listing at the top of the results page and take a quick look, then continue down the list without studying the source of the website to figure out whether it’s best source of information.

Honestly, I don’t often take what is on the internet as truth without thinking much about it. Why I could say like that? Because from my personal experience and because I’m kind of people who like to search. When I got news, for example from my friend’s status on twitter I will go check for the truth. I will believe it if there is the author named or the organization that is responsible for the truth of the article.

I have an example that related to this topic from my recent personal experience. I have read my friend’s status on twitter about The Strokes (one of my favourite American band) will perform in Kuala Lumpur on 6^th August 2011 at Stadium Putra Bukit Jalil. Of course when I read it, I got shocked and really excited. But on the other side, I also think like “is it for real?”. Then I checked it on the internet. I searched some articles that related to this news, and the result is I found this flyer. 

I was more excited when saw this flyer, because I saw the concert was sponsored by Maxis, Malaysia Airlines, Mtv, Junk, and Astro. Those are big companies and I think they will not spread the lies. But I didn't just stop, I checked for another trusted site, I opened The Strokes official website and saw their tour dates and sure enough they don’t have event on  6^th August 2011 their upcoming event is on 13^th August and that is not in Kuala Lumpur, but in Tokyo. 

Another example is about “Facebook Will End on March 15^th, 2012”. 

I read it from weeklyworldnews.com. In this article, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook will be shut down because managing the site has become too stressful. “Facebook has gotten out of control,” said Zuckerberg in a press conference outside his Palo Alto office, “and the stress of managing this company has ruined my life. I need to put an end to all the madness.” Of course many people got upset when read this article, including me. I think that his reason is no sense, I meant why he should shut down the Facebook if he got much money from it? Then I looked for the truth from another site, and the result is it is just Hoax news. According to http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, The "Weekly World News" article went on to quote another company official, Avrat Humarthi, vice-president of technical affairs at Facebook, as saying "After March 15th the whole website shuts down. So if you ever want to see your pictures again, I recommend you take them off the internet. You won't be able to get them back once Facebook goes out of business."

So, the conclusion is don’t believe everything you read on the internet, and think twice before you pass a story or news on to your friends. Be critical, you better search the truth first before pass give the information to another people than giving them fake information. Although a hoax is not as serious as malware worming its way between users and stealing information, it's still a nuisance, clogging up communications, increasing the overall level of spam and perhaps leading people to make decisions for the wrong reasons.

Hijja Ania - 1092700994

Rumors, Lies and Innuendo Spread Far, Wide and Fast on the Internet

The comic shows that about rumor, lies and innuendo. The story tell us that the article about "The Late" Vic Van Speck is fake, and it was created by a child behind the scene. These attitudes are so selfish and mischievous. It will become trouble or burden to other people.

Internet has many possitive and negative effects on people life. It makes all kinds of information available by just one click. Although you can find recent news in a moment, you may get the incorrect one. Actually, it is important to pay attention to the resources and website addresses and using the famous and trusted websites which is never published hoax. Lies and rumors are really important, because it can change and influence people's mind easily these days. That's why, the media that come to people’s lives are so important. Media has big effects on our lives like I mentioned before, it may bring problems among people. Media can spread lies that change people's view and even country’s destiny. 

Here's one example of rumors, lies and innuendo that spread around the internet:

Steven Spielberg Palestinian Movie

Spielberg to Direct Feature Based On Palestinian Uprising

The news is about an upcoming film from director Steven Spielberg will document the current uprising in the West Bank from a pro-Palestinian point of view. It was posted on several news lists and also forwarded to several Canadian-based news organizations as well as Jewish political-action groups and other activists. Under the headline that read "Spielberg to direct feature based on Palestinian uprising," The false news story purported to quote Spielberg speaking out on behalf of the Palestinians and criticizing both Israel and Hollywood. The original story, which circulated by e-mail, could not be determined.

We should be more cautions towards what we expose to from Internet, because we don't know which one is the true and which one is the fake one. Now, I think that there are few billions or people surfing information from webs. This is how news can spread throughout the whole world. We need to search and look carefully in order to avoid the rumors and lies around us. Be aware of lies, rumours and innuendo that spread from Internet. 

Rumors, lies and innuendo spread far, wide and fast on the Internet

Through the comic strip uploaded by the lecturer. I understand that the news post through internet might be either true or false. Therefore, it is critical in making decision to believe or not. In my critical reflection toward the media is I would not believe what is written on the internet as the truth because:


1) As everyone know that internet is now an easy access door to the world of information. In the same time, each originate of the information come from different source in the world. Therefore, the source provider might add in their own opinion toward a matter create doubt to receiver.


2) As mention in above that different people might add in their opinion. Thus, let take internet as a comment board to every user to freely comment on a matter and some people take an advantage toward this way to influence others on their thinking by using their opinion. So, the percentages of believing the news on the internet is greatly reduce.


My Personal Reflection on the News Post in Internet


From the class, I understand that Media not only entertain, inform and etc. It also in a way also effect us in many way from our mind thinking to even our living style. From many different theory that we learn allow us to understand that some people use Media for others purpose to inject information, ideas, propaganda hypodermically. Maybe we don't realised but even now we are still being influence by Media such YouTube, Blog and etc. Therefore, it is wise that we interpret certain information that we gain before we accept it.

Rumors, lies and innuendo spread far, wide and fast on the Internet

A lot of information on the internet that we can believe it or not. We should be able to choose what is right and wrong, do not be too easy to believeeverything on the internet.

Information research is performed in many different ways throughout the Internet. Once an information is found, the assessment of its relevance and trustiness happens through objective criteria and on the premise of subjective factors. What are such criteria and factors?  And how are they changing in a growing social connected net? A typical situation: You sit with friends together and discuss; a fact is cited, but you do not believe it and want to prove it is wrong, so you quickly check it  in the Internet. We increasingly rely on our digital backbone, which now it is even ubiquitous available through mobile phones. The net becomes our extended memory – not in any case it is easy to find an answer quickly, but is getting easier thanks to sources such as Wikipedia. (http://www.crisscrossed.net/2010/01/08/when-do-we-trust-an-information-source)

Example, we can search everything in internet for our assignment. But not all we get from internet is right. 

We can discuss about wikipedia, wikipedia give a lot of information but wikipedia have a shortage. people can edit the information in wikipedia and change it. So don't everything in there, we must search other references. 

Another example is internet fraud. 

The Internet is a useful way to reach a mass audience without spending a lot of time or money.  A website, online message, or “spam” e-mails can reach large numbers with minimum effort.  It's easy for fraudsters to make their messages look real and credible and sometimes hard for investors to tell the difference between fact and fiction.  That's why you should think twice before you invest your money in any opportunity you find online. (http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/cyberfraud.htm)

We must be careful because many criminal incidents on the internet. Such online shop that ask your credit card number. We must know that online shop really trustworthy or not. 

many more criminals on the internet.

Here are a few suggestions on ways to keep your personal information and money more secure when you go online:

Beef Up Your Security. Personal firewalls and security software packages (with anti-virus, anti-spam, and spyware detection features) are a must-have for those who engage in online financial transactions.

Use a Security Token (if available). Using a security token can make it even harder for an identity thief to access your online brokerage account. 

Be Careful What You Download. When you download a program or file from an unknown source, you risk loading malicious software programs on your computer.

Use Your Own Computer If You Can. It's generally safer to access your online brokerage account from your own computer than from other computers.

Don't Respond to Emails Requesting Personal Information.Legitimate entities will not ask you to provide or verify sensitive information through a non-secure means, such as email.

Be Smart About Your Password. The best passwords are ones that are difficult to guess. 

Use Extra Caution with Wireless Connections. Wireless networks may not provide as much security as wired Internet connections. 

Log Out Completely. Closing or minimizing your browser or typing in a new web address when you're done using your online account may not be enough to prevent others from gaining access to your account information.

(http://www.sec.gov/spotlight/katrina/protectyourselfonline.htm)

personally, I don't trust everything from internet. If I search something, I usual search from many sources, so I can choose the best.

Rumors, lies and innuendo spread far, wide and fast on the Internet

From the comic above, that was clearly tell us that was a rumors, lies and innuendo. 

I agreed on what it says, rumors, lies and innuendo spread far, wide and fast on the internet. Do we have to believe on all the news that come out from the internet? In my opinion, i do not think so. I would rather to go check to another website, to get some more articles that have the same topic then read it properly. Check who is the author of the article and try to determine who is responsible to the article, whether it is individual, organizations, government, media organization, university or institutions.

Another example that we cannot believed it directly is the advertisements that always pop up when we open the random website. Same like that, it also a form like a quizes that we asked to send an sms to answer the questions then got an iPhone. It is just kind of nonsense.

There is an example from my friend that have been a victim from online shopping in facebook. He bought a blackberry, then after he pay and tell them about the payment, he gives his address. He waiting for the confirmation from the seller, and after 4 days the facebook account is dissappear. See, how the online shop can get money easily, that is why we have to be very careful.

In conclusion, we cannot fully trust on the internet sources because many of people who created the fake websites for their business without thinking of people feeling. So maybe we can make sure the website is really authentic or not. Beware guys !

Nur Fitriyani - 1092701216

Rumors, lies and innuendo spread far, wide and fast on the Internet

People shouldn't believe everything they read, especially on the internet. Anybody can write and post everything on the internet without the need to be accurate. Even The Wikipedia, world’s largest encyclopedia with nearly 900,000 articles in English, can not always be trusted because unlike other encyclopedias, anyone can contribute on writing this one. Like the comic above, the boy simply believe that the news is authentic because he read it in the official national-news.com without knowing that the writer of that news is just a kid.

See? People can lie about their identity. Internet is like a new world where we can be anybody we want. Another example is online dating. Many single men and women tries to find their luck on the internet by online dating and they sometime just believe everything by what is posted on the internet; like the handsome or beautiful photos, status, age, or even gender!

There is one recent news from Indonesia that a man married a woman he met on Facebook named Fransisca, after six months on marriage it turns out that the woman he married is a man named Rahmat! Rahmat fake his ID, birth certificate, to prove that he's a woman. Crazy right?

I once experienced Email scam, there was email from DHL telling me that some package has arrives for me and I should download the reference number on the attachment in order to collect my package, I just simply believe because DHL is one of the reliable mail service, but when i download the attachment it turns out to be virus. And days later I have similar email from FedEx and other mail services.

There are also many hoaxes posted on internet, I found a web calles The Top 15 hoaxes on internet, and these are some of them:

1. How to Charge an iPod with an Onion (2007)

The mostly-joke how-to site Household Hacker hit the big time with their viral video that purportedly demonstrated how to charge an iPod using nothing but an onion and a glass of Gatorade. The video was full of pseudo science that made it seem plausible, and it got a ton of press and frustrated a lot of people who plugged their electronics into vegetables.

2. The Derbyshire Fairy (2006)

As part of an elaborate April Fools Day prank, prop-maker Dan Baines of Derbyshire, England created what he told people was the corpse of a “fairy,” and put it up for sale on eBay and on his web site. His prop was perhaps a little too well made, and resulted in his site getting over 20,000 visits in one day. Even after he revealed the whole thing was a hoax, Baines still received emails from fairy believers accusing him of covering up the truth with his hoax story.

For more of these you can go here.

So, what can we do to prevent these kind of things? Be skeptical; don’t assume information online is true, try to determine who’s responsible for the site, whether an individual, institution, university, government, media organization, etc., try to determine the purpose and audience of the site, look for an indication of how current the material is. (http://www.jimkarpen.com/wikipedia-lies.html)

Are Bloggers Journalists?

According to this article, This is the main difference to see between bloggers and journalists. Bloggers tend to write what they know, think and feel. Journalists are supposed to give facts, and unfortunately don’t always get them correct.
(http://chris.pirillo.com/are-bloggers-journalists-are-blogs-new-journalism/)



I think bloggers and journalist are different. Same with that article, bloggers tend to write what they know, think and feel, journalists are supposed to give facts. 


"If someone has a journalistic background, you don't have to teach them the ethics of the game or what 'off the record' means," he said. "And what is a rumor and what isn't. I don't hold it against anybody, that's the way it is."
"Every journalist should know how to blog," Sarno said. "The Internet, clogged as it is with digital detritus, is still far and away the world's best source of information. And being a good blogger means you can sift through it. That's another great thing about the blogopshere -- if you can succesfully tune in to the conversation other people are already having, you can benefit from the work that's already been done. Plus, stories develop so quickly now that if you're going to get a word in edgewise, you've got to figure out what hasn't been said yet."
(http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2008/02/distinction-between-bloggers-journalists-blurring-more-than-ever059.html)




The basic principle is this: There are at least two sides to any story, usually more. Real journalists present all sides of a story, using multiple sources for balance and doing original reporting wherever possible. A quick survey of blogs reveals that many bloggers reporting news generally offer one side of the story. This one-sided difference is partly responsible for the Web being polluted by gossip, rumor and innuendo posing as news.
(http://www.oddlytogether.com/post/485848767/the-difference-between-blogging-and-journalism)



This is a very valid point. Most bloggers are publish opinion rather than news, however the opinion columnists, pundits, etc both in newspapers and on radio/tv consider themselves journalists.
(http://donsingleton.blogspot.com/2005/04/are-bloggers-journalists.html)

1.  Journalists do work for hire for a company and they must abide by a set of regulations and ethics learned either in college or on the job.

Bloggers are their own company/brand and must adhere to new industry standards of disclosure. Every blogger is responsible for their own training, understanding and implementing of FTC (Federal Trade Commission)-imposed disclosures.

2.  Journalists report the facts.  Opinions are left to op-eds and critics.

Bloggers write about what we choose to discuss, with any opinion we desire to partake.  We can align to any specific cause, openly discuss our likes and dislikes and use our influence to promote our alliances.

3.  Journalists at most reputable news organizations are not allowed to receive any kind of compensation whether it be in the form of gifts, trips, tickets, discounts, or any other benefit from those they write about. Journalist don’t do endorsements. The only thing that would come close to one would be a political endorsement and that’s done on the Op-Ed page. Doing so compromises their integrity and creates a conflict of interest which makes it harder for the journalist to report objectively.

The majority of bloggers will accept gifts, swag, promotional items, trips, and event invitations as the perks, or even compensation, for their work.  Self-published bloggers do not receive payment for the content they create.  If we are to endorse a brand or service, and it doesn´t meet our editorial standards as something we would naturally write about, then payment for the exposure and promotion given the product is well received.  Bloggers also accept and expect products sent to them to be able to write honest reviews.

4.  Journalists are only journalists. They don´t get involved with the Sales and Advertising department. They don´t know what deals the Marketing and PR staff are working on.  Journalists don´t need to make sure their distribution numbers are rising.  They just get assigned a beat and they investigate and report.  In journalism, clear lines are delineated between the editorial and the sales/marketing departments so that no compromises exist. At least in theory.

Self-published bloggers are everything:  the writer, content creator, editor, publicist, marketing chief, distribution department, sales contact, etc, etc. Aside from being exhausting, it is a tough balancing act to maintain editorial integrity and focus, while trying to get compensated for your work when there are no clear lines drawn.

(http://www.latinabloggersconnect.com/2010/12/the-differences-between-bloggers-and-journalists-is-clear/)

From those articles I can conclude, bloggers and journalists are different. 

We can see the differences, 

The most notable difference is 

bloggers give their opinion in their blog, but journalists give a fact. T

hey both convey information to all.

Are Blogger Journalist?

  Blog  is a type of website or part of a website. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. Blog can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

Most blogs are interactive, allowing visitors to leave comments and even message each other via widgets on the blogs and it is this interactivity that distinguishes them from other static websites.

Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability of readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (art blog), photographs (photoblog), videos (video blogging), music (MP3 blog), and audio (podcasting). Microblogging is another type of blogging, featuring very short posts.

journalist

Journalist collects and disseminates information about current events, people, trends, and issues. His or her work is acknowledged as journalism.

Reporters are one type of journalist. They create reports as a profession for broadcast or publication in mass media such as newspapers, television, radio, magazines, documentary film, or the Internet. Reporters find sources for their work, their reports can be either spoken or written, and they are often expected to report in the most objective and unbiased way to serve the public good. A columnist is a journalist who writes pieces that appear regularly in newspapers or magazines.

Depending on the context, the term journalist also includes various types of editors and visual journalists, such as photographers, graphic artists, and page designers.

Are Blogger Journalist?

A journalist writes for a media outlet, a blogger writes for new age media, a blog. At the end of the day they are both doing the same thing. Of course, journalist can also work for a television broadcast such as CBC Television.

Both are doing their work for a target audience. Bloggers blog for their readers, and journalist publish their stories in the newspaper and on the internet.

Both have an audience and both are a form of media. So why do we differentiate between who needs access to the press gallery/who receives press passes and who doesn't? Because not everyone really needs that access.

With free services out there like Blogger, Wordpress, Typepad anyone can start a blog. It's simple, enter a username, password, and maybe your email address and your set to go. Now your ready for the best seats in the house and the free press passes. Hold on a second.

While this does put you on the map with social media and you have established a website, do you really need all the perks? With no barrier to entry, everyone and their dog will be creating a blog to start receiving the free passes, access to special places and what have you.

As such, limits have to be placed on who can access a press gallery & who can't but those limits have to be fair.

This is where we have different rules for different situations.

In relation to social media, maybe the limits will have to be based on what the goal of the company is. If you wish to receive the same access as other journalist, there must be standards. Journalists have to agree to a code of ethics, so shouldn't blogger when they request access to any press related outlets? Then we would need to look at the purpose as to why someone would want access. Are they there to report what is going on or are they there to make a disgrace of someone. If the goal is to make a disgrace, then no thanks, not interested.

Had a press pass before, so you should get one again? Not exactly. I have media passes to the 2005 Jazz & Blues Festival and the 2006 East Coast Music Awards. Did I need them? Not really, anything I had done could have been done without a media pass.

Other things that will have to be looked at are, are you going to be constantly reporting on the news? If the goal of the company is to write a cookbook, then chances are you don't need access.

Who ever is responsible for granting the press passes will have to do their homework on the individuals requesting one. Walking up to a desk and saying I own a website is not a good enough reason to have a press pass. Obviously, an application will need to be completed with questions to the above answers and more.

I don't think everyone who has a blog or has a Twitter account should be able to get a press pass. Not only because there is no room, but there is little to no need to have special access when you won't really need it. I think it is okay for some bloggers to receive them but only those who are working for a credible media company and not a fly by night company.