Digital news must own up to its mistakes
A recent BBC news article regarding the Covid vaccine caused confusion, as it stated that all those using steroid inhalers will be included in the at risk group and therefore will be prioritised for vaccination — which is not part of official government or NHS policy (Schraer, 2021). Mistakes in digital news articles are understandable and easily fixed; indeed, this article was quickly updated to remove any incorrect information. However, there was no acknowledgement that there had been a mistake, as the time of article release remained unchanged, and there was no mention anywhere that the information included had changed. Fixing a mistake is clearly an important part of news reporting, but why should these mistakes be acknowledged?
As the digital news cycle has accelerated, the treatment of mistakes has shifted. The 24-hour digital news cycle has increased the speed at which news organisations release articles, which has also increased the number of errors present in published articles as review processes are scaled back or delayed in favour of the quick release of breaking news (Jha, 2011). Indeed, a 2009 study of 155 US newspapers found that 50% of newspapers did not copyedit their online news stories, as they prioritised speed over accuracy (Porlezza and Russ-Mohl, 2013). As research has shown that errors in news articles reduce public trust in the article and the news organisation distributing it (Vultee, 2015), the increased prevalence of mistakes made in digital news is a cause for concern.
Yet even as mistakes are more frequently made in digital news updates, they are simultaneously easier to fix. Digital developments mean that news organisations no longer need to print an explanation and correction of the incorrect information, as they can directly edit the article and ensure that future readers will see only the correct information, and not the previous mistake (Joseph, 2011). Mark Jurkowitz, former associate director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, highlighted the “self-correcting mechanism” of digital journalism (Farhi, 2013), and indeed as the articles are shared through the digital platforms of the news organisation, rather than being physically printed, “it is very easy to correct and erase mistakes or even entire news items” (Karlsson et al, 2017).
While digital news is not preserved in print and so can be edited directly, technological advancements have given readers new ways of saving and sharing news. As the screenshot above evidences, articles can be taken out of the hands of the initial distributor, and simply correcting the initial article does little to prevent a continued spread of incorrect information. It has been widely recognised that readers have taken on a greater gatekeeping authority in the area of digital news (Wallace, 2018), and so it has become increasingly important for news organisations to not only correct any mistakes made in their articles, but to also ensure that they publicly acknowledge the mistake challenge further spread of misinformation.
It is therefore increasingly important that newspaper errors are not only corrected, but that they are also widely acknowledged so that previous readers are fully informed of the correct information. Scott Maier, journalism professor at the University of Oregon, said that the public is “pretty understanding” of mistakes so long as the news organisation admits to having made them (Farhi, 2013), and so media acknowledgement of mistakes is important in both correcting misinformation and increasing public trust that the information provided by news organisations is reliable. To err is human, but to fail to acknowledge errors could be dangerous, both in allowing the spread of misinformation and degrading public trust in news organisations.
Farhi, P. 2013. Mistakes in news reporting happen, but do they matter? The Washington Post [Online] Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/mistakes-in-news-reporting-happen-but-do-they-matter/2013/04/19/c89fbf6a-a926-11e2-a8e2-5b98cb59187f_story.html [Accessed 18/2/2021]
Jha, A. 2011. Acknowledging mistakes is key to advancement — and not just in science. The Guardian [Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/nov/18/alok-jha-science-truth-mistakes [Accessed 18/2/2021]
Joseph, N. L. 2011. Correcting the Record: The impact of the digital news age on the performance of press accountability. Journalism Practice 5(6): pp.704–718.
Karlsson, M., Clerwall, C. and Nord, L. 2017. Do Not Stand Corrected: Transparency and Users’ Attitudes to Inaccurate News and Corrections in Online Journalism. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 94(1): pp.148–167.
Porlezza, C. and Russ-Mohl, S. 2013. Getting the Facts Straight in a Digital Era. In Chris Peters and Marcel Broersma (eds.). Rethinking Journalism: Trust and Participation in a Transformed News Landscape. Routeledge: Oxon
Schraer, R. 2021. Asthma sufferers’ ‘confusion’ over Covid vaccine. BBC [Online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-56012530 [Accessed 18/2/2021].
Vultee, F. 2015. Audience Perceptions of Editing Quality. Digital Journalism 3(6): pp.832–849.
Wallace, J. 2018. Modelling Contemporary Gatekeeping. Digital Journalism 6(3): pp.274–293.
