Ethics in online journalism

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Ethics are moral principles that govern a person or a group's behavior. In the world of journalism, they are also ethics that we follow to make sure that we keep the standards of our profession. These ethics every online journalist must consider them every time they publish their content online. If a journalist disregards this ethics it can lead to big consequences and worse, it might result in the journalist losing their job. Online journalism has become very popular nowadays, in such a way that it is the biggest and fastest medium of conveying news to the public at large.

In this essay, I will explore the ethical considerations that must be taken into consideration by the journalist when publishing content online. I will also look at some examples of instances where journalists in our country and the world failed to adhere to ethics when publishing their content online.

One of the ethics which journalists must consider when publishing content online is honesty. Honesty is at the center stage in the world of journalism and without it, journalism loses its meaning and mandate to the society. It is not a secret that there is so much competition online, many media houses are now shifting to the online platform as a mode of sharing news with their readers. These media houses now must race with those who are their competition for them not to lose their readers to other news sites. It is because of this competition which exists that leads other journalists to publish content without verifying if it is true or not. A journalist has to verify everything before the content is published online. Publishing true and verified information will always make you stand out as a journalist and many people will choose you as their trusted source of information.

On March 16, 2020, a South African news channel eNCA had published online that Zimbabwe had recorded its first Covid-19 case which was not true because according to the President of Zimbabwe on the 17 March 2020 Zimbabwe had not recorded any case for Covid-19. Bulawayo News 24 wrote an article on March 23, 2020, to say that eNCA is publishing fake news. According to the article, eNCA is said to have misinterpreted and misreported the information. It is this kind of information that will make people lose interest on your online site. On March 7, 2020, a South African tabloid newspaper, Daily Sun published an apology to the leader of Enlightened Christian Gathering (ECG) leader Prophet Shepherd Bushiri regarding a fake news article which they had published. The article had said that 4 ladies from Bushiri’s church are accusing Bushiri of sexual harassment and abuse. The article even got the attention of the Press Ombudsman which ordered Daily Sun to apologize to Bushiri.

The journalist also has to avoid plagiarism when they publish online. It is so easy to commit plagiarism sometimes without being aware, as a journalist, it is important to know what plagiarism is and ways to avoid committing it. It is always advisable for journalists to rewrite the information they find on the internet and to credit the source of the information which has been used. On May 2, 2019, the Knox news published an article where the University of Tennessee Journalism professor Stuart Brotman was accused of plagiarism. Brotman was said to be in dispute over allegations that he had breached the ethics of journalism by plagiarizing the words and conclusions of others in a report he had published. In most cases, if you are found to have committed such an act, they are serious consequences that can be taken against you. The professor became lucky because the university could not take any action against him since he was not part of the university at the time when he committed plagiarism.

Fabricating information can also ruin your career as a journalist. Fabricating is known as adding imaginary characters to a story to make it look somehow. Journalists are also advised to avoid electronic adjustments like photoshop and adding filters to images when publishing online. For example, photoshopping someone into a photo taken from a crime scene.

The content which journalists publish online should always minimize harm. Which is the reason why harm minimization is one of the important ethics which are to be considered when publishing content. A journalist should know that not every fact that can be published should be published. If there is harm in publishing certain information that information does not have to be published which according to the constitution of the Republic of South Africa it is a stipulated law under freedom of expression.

The information which is published online by journalists should avoid libel. Journalists are not allowed to publish content that can damage a person’s reputation especially if that information is not true. A journalist of the Sundays Independent Piet Rampedi posted on his Twitter and Facebook account that investigative journalist Jacques Pauw is a racist and a child molester which Pauw says the statement is defamatory to him and was suing Rampedi for defamation for R500 000. Rampedi refused to apologize and said he will contest the matter in court.

Public accountability is very important in journalism. News organizations should listen to their audience and allow the audience to hold them accountable for the published content. When news outlets publish factual errors, they need to write a correction and let their readers know of such a correction. Fairness also is important when you publish content online, make sure you are not biased, and you have covered all sides of the story.

If you can follow all the ethics before publishing online, your work will stand out and many people will choose your site. If your site has many people who visit it daily that will also invite advertisers to bring their adverts to you which is plays an important part in generating income to keep the site going. If you are a journalist who follows ethics a lot of media houses will want, you to work for them.

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