Fake news a threat to journalism, say senior journalists

JournalismPakistan.com | Published 7 years ago

ISLAMABAD: Two journalists on Thursday opined that fake news and social media have become a threat to journalism.

In a tweet, Hamid Mir (pictured, left) said: “Fake news is biggest threat to media freedom, promoters of fake news are actually hostages of their personal likings and dislikings.”

He was commenting on a tweet by Salman Masood (pictured, right), who thought that “many journalists have become hostage to WhatsApp groups’ gossip and unverified chatter.”

Masood is a correspondent of the New York Times in Pakistan.

He reminded journalists of their job: “Their main job is to report accurately after talking to officials and solid sources, not to simply act as vessels of unverified and sensational WhatsApp group content.”

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