Digital Journalism Ethics How to hopscotch your way through the minefield

@bydanielvictor

Discussion: Is “out there” good enough? Everyone in your town is discussing the rumors that the school superintendent is resigning because of “improper conduct” related to a young teacher.

Do you write a story?

Do individual reporters tweet about it?

Do individual reporters retweet people talking about it?

Let’s review the SPJ Code of Ethics - Seek truth and report it

- Minimize harm

- Act independently

- Be accountable

...these have always been good ideas.

Let’s stick with them.

Here’s what we’ll go over - Accuracy and verification

- Opinions

- Personal v. professional use

- Corrections

- Attribution

- Transparency

Accuracy and Verification

Rule 1: Assume everything you see

is bullshit until proven otherwise. Live every day like April Fools’ Day.

Accuracy and verification Rule 2: Follow up. Ask questions. Report!

You have a greater obligation than ever to deliver confirmed information. It is very easy to get suckered, and people do so all the time. Be on guard.

If your mother says she loves you, check her Klout score - Look for clusters (find more sources)

- Evaluate a source’s history

- How many times has the person tweeted?

- Does the person commonly tweet about the subject?

- Does the person seem to live in the geographic area he/she’s tweeting about? Photo by Din Jimenez

If your mother says she loves you, check her Klout score - Is it first-hand, or just repeating what was seen

elsewhere?

- Does the person have a clear digital footprint?

- Follow up with questions or contact the person for a phone/email interview.

Photo by Din Jimenez

Verifying images

Search by image is your friend Right-click on an image to get its URL. Then drop it in here to see if that same image has been used in the past. This happens a lot during weather events, especially.

google.com/images

A key distinction Rule 3: Think of each tweet or post you see as a tip, not source material. You can upgrade it to source material only once you’ve confirmed it.

Photo by sskennel

Sharing opinions

Rule 4: If you have to debate whether or not you should send that tweet, you probably shouldn’t send that tweet.

When in doubt, discuss it with an editor.

But sharing opinions is fun! Yes, it is. And there are ways you can do it without endangering you or your organization. Consider what kind of opinion you’d be sharing:

- Analysis of news events on your beat

- Analysis of news events off your beat

- Your political stances

- Advocacy

- Just for fun

Personal v. Professional Use

Rule 5: Have fun! Be yourself! Be funny! Be fun!

Personal v. Professional: Avoiding the pitfalls - Declare your professional affiliation in your bio

- And remember you represent that company, whether you want to or not

Personal v. Professional: Avoiding the pitfalls - Remember that every tweet is public, even if you have a

small audience

- Imagine the person you’d least want to see your tweet or post will definitely see it

- Resist complaining about companies and brands

Corrections Reply to the original tweet so the correction becomes connected.

Attribution - Careful with

cutting and pasting

- Don’t take too much of others’ reporting

- Make sure you’re rewriting

- But don’t simply rewrite without attributing (“Everyone has it” defense)

Links Be generous with links. They bring additional credibility and allow the readers to learn more, which they’ll remember and appreciate.

Twitter-specific minutiae - The “native” RT is preferred

over simply writing “RT:”

- Avoid MT, as it’s tantamount to changing someone’s quote

- Be generous with hat tips (h/t or via)

By Matt Hamm

Transparency Rule 6: Be as forthcoming as possible, but mindful of spreading disinformation.

Crowdsourcing/open reporting - Go overboard in

crediting/thanking

- Careful in your unconfirmed information

- Tell them what you’ll do with their submission

Let’s discuss

What else is on your mind?