PATHAK,PANDEY 1

DEVANG PATHAK,ARU PANDEY

Prof. RASHMI REKHA BORAH

1st year Btech CSE

5 November 2019

Impact of self-reported news as a source of information

The role of cognoscenti in improving flow of credible news

ABSTRACT

Self-reporting of incidents has become increasingly popular. People are often seen with their

mobile phones in hand trying to capture an incident that they feel others would be interested to

see as well. Technology also act as an aid to these people as it caters them with several platform

to share videos and photos. However, there have been a serious impact of self-reporting on the

society. Some outcome have been beneficial but many other have been lethal to individual and

societies as well. When something starts effecting the society then it becomes important to

analyze its pros and cons. While most agree that this issue requires attention, consensus dissolves

around how to respond to the problem. The research paper try to reveal the effects of the issue

and also the role of professional media and experts to tackle with the credibility issue of self-

reporting.

KEYWORDS

1. Mass media

2. Self-reported news

3. Credibility

4. Social issues
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5. Awareness

6. Way to share insights

INTRODUCTION

Self-reported news have increased immensely in the last decade. It is a weapon for those who are

deprived of a voice, for those who are suppressed ,and even for those who just want to share

something which they feel valuable to the world. Uploading videos on social media, blogging, or

operating a page with hundreds of followers on a platform are some of the many ways people share

their valuable views, anecdotes, and personal account of witnessing something important, Over

the years these news reported by people itself have paved path to expose various criminal

syndicates, black businesses and things that come under illegal category by law.

But can anything so prevalent have everything good in it. The answer is No. Self-reporting have

cause various problems in today’s world. These problems range from trivial issues to serious social

tensions. In India some people upload videos that even cause religious tensions, but nobody tries

to really understand in what situation that video was shot. Videos of mob lynching, mob fights,

rampages and many other violent videos keep on circulating over the internet that has an adverse

effect on the psychology of adults as well as teenagers. These videos prepare ground for people to

take revenge from others or defame them. However, questions have been raised about the

credibility of online news (e.g.,Brill, 2001; Ketterer, 1998; Lasica, 1998; Online News Association,

2002).

News agencies need to expose fake news and control the flow of legitimate news through proper

gatekeeping. There is an urgent and pressing need of experts, normal public ,and news agencies to

filter out the content they see or broadcast. So this research aim to put forth the impacts and how

they can be dealt. It includes survey of 120 college students and 70 adults to see how they respond
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to various sources of information and are these enough to move them. Having diverse pool of

people for survey is thought to lead to better results as everyone follow some kind of news and

different generations of people respond differently to these informations.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Internet is free for everyone to use and post content until and unless those contents break

community guidelines. So many people post self-reported incidences on websites and social

median online. Many times it helps rescue those in need. A guy being asked for bribe captures the

incidence with an hidden camera and expose the corrupt officer or someone captures incident of a

mob fight and the evidence helps to get to the culprits. People even write blogs about things that

normal people are unheard of. But self-reported media on one side appears to be a savior to those

who are in need of it but on many incidences its not less than a pandora’s box. There are several

things which are not under surveillance of guidelines set by various websites but cause much

greater damage. Video of a man being lynched, someone passing bad comments on someone or

on a community, hurting religious sentiments and several other things that promote hate, misogyny

and ill-thinking. Self-reported news are often staged to defame someone and in the process

sometimes a group of people are so enraged by that news that the guy caught in this scandal even

loses his life. Videos are often edited showing famous people involving in sexual acts which is

circulated all over the internet and ultimately it is found that video was fake
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People especially adults believe in news they get through applications like ‘whatsapp’and

‘facebook’. Even teenagers are moved by news that talks logically with stats but on further research

its found that those facts are totally inaccurate. About two-thirds of American adults (68%) say

they at least occasionally get news on social media, about the same share as at this time in

2017(Pew Research Center survey,2017) which shows the reachability of online news and with it

comes its harmful effect as well. So keeping in mind such varying effects of self-reported news it

becomes important to address this issue.

But the question arises that why people even go for these self-reported news. This is because even

the credible sources of news that are the news channels itself use these bits of self-reported news

and make a coverage out of it. But many times its found that news being flashed on the television

that is aided with self-reported media was highly distorted and away from reality.

According to one study, nearly two-thirds (64%) of journalists sometimes or often use news

from the Web in their reporting (EURO RSCG Magnet & Columbia University

Survey of the Media, 2005). Furthermore, more than 90% of journalists say that

the Internet has had a substantial impact on how they perform their jobs (Middle-

berg/Ross Media Survey, 2002). Journalists in the new millennium are no longer deciding what

information the public should know but instead are helping audiences make sense of it. Similarly,

a report by the Project for Excellence in Journalism (2004) contends that the increasing availability

of news and information from both legitimate and illegitimate sources ‘‘makes the demand for the

journalist as referee, watchdog, and interpreter all the greater”.

A number of studies have examined audience perceptions of the credibility of

Internet information (e.g., Flanagin & Metzger, 2000; Johnson & Kaye, 1998; Kiousis,

2001). However, less scholarly attention has been paid to journalists’ perceptions of
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online news credibility. But if research will be done then result will surely be surprising because

even professional media nowadays take help of these online sources.

The research has included a diverse pool of people to collect survey in order to bring in

perspectives of each age group into account. There has been a systematic analysis of the issue with

numbers presented from other credible sources that help back the research throughout.

METHODOLOGY

The research was conducted with the help of modern survey methods like google form and also

conventional person to person interaction. The questions were framed to make sure that human

biases are kept as far as possible from tampering the research result. Also the questions covered a

variety of spheres that would make the result as universal as possible.

Various methods have been adopted and numbers have been carefully analysed to bring about an

accurate paper.

The result of survey had been in some spheres surprising and in other predictable.

AGE GROUP FOLLOWING SELF

REPORTED NEWS

11%
8% 17-24
39%
24-30
30-40
40 AND ABOVE
42%
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The survey about the various age groups constituting as the audience of the self reported news

provide an important information about the age group this news effects. By varying age groups

people’s sense of understanding, maturity, aspirations and area of interest change. If the youth is

affected negatively then it poses a more serious threat as the future of a nation is tempered with.

So this way various age groups have various roles to play.

SURVEY 2

SOURCES OF SELF REPORTED NEWS

21%
SOCIAL MEDIA
38%
NEWS CHANNEL
9%
PRINT MEDIA
MESSAGING

32%

As we surveyed to know about the sources of self reported news we found that majority came from

social media sites. But surprisingly and almost equal amount of news came from news channels

that are often supposed to collect news on their own with professional ethics involved. This was

an initial hint that pointed towards the degradation of news channels and their increasing

dependence on these kinds of videos or content posted by the people over various sites. Print media

seemed to be much better than other sources as big shots of print media still relied largely upon
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their report’s captured and witnessed news. Credible newspapers were also observed to maintain

a larger level of professionalism and adhered to ethics. But another source of these news were

personal messaging which points towards the one to one messages exchanged between individuals.

But it is believed that these news that were directed through messaging were taken up largely from

social media or cut clippings of news channel broadcasts.

SURVEY 3

MOST POPULAR SELF REPORTED

NEWS TOPIC

CAPTURED
CRIMES
16% COMMUNAL
33%
PERSONAL
ACCOUNT OF
AN INCIDENT
30%

POLITCS
21%

Politics, communal videos, crimes, violence and all other extreme things are often not advisable

to teenagers and students as it depresses them or instils in them the feeling of hate or bias towards

a particular group. Since students whether college going or school going are in a very

impressionable age so they need to be away from things that may impact their psychology and

affect them in a negative manner. Adults are also enraged by seeing these videos but they are

considered to be more sensible and have liabilities on them so they are expected to not react that

explosively as a young man may.

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So it becomes important for us to filter out the news that are reaching to everyone because one

problem with self-reported media is that it is reported by men like us and not always their intentions

are just to capture a incidence or to spill beans on a violent plan but sometimes they also engage

in illegal acts and put false accusation on a normal guy for their own profit. So they edit the video

in a way that it remains in their favour.

A December 2016 survey by the Pew Research Center suggests that 23 percent of U.S.

adults have shared fake news, knowingly or unknowingly, with friends and others.

This shows that the news or information we get over the internet is not always true but surely

is most of the times coated with good headlines or interactive photos that strikes our

subconscious to be as legit.

“The rise of fake news highlights the erosion of long-standing institutional bulwarks against

misinformation in the internet age. Concern over the problem is global. However, much

remains unknown regarding the vulnerabilities of individuals, institutions, and society to

manipulations by malicious actors. A new system of safeguards is needed. Below, we

discuss extant social and computer science research regarding belief in fake news and the

mechanisms by which it spreads. Fake news has a long history, but we focus on

unanswered scientific questions raised by the proliferation of its most recent, politically

oriented incarnation. Beyond selected references in the text, suggested further reading can

be found in the supplementary materials”, Lazer, David M. J.; et al. Science, March 2018.

DOI: 10.1126/science.aao2998.

Role of professional news media: The problem of fake self reported news or legit self

reporting portrayed as offensive can only be solved by those who are established in the field

of media. These are professional news newsrooms, print media, and well acclaimed

journalists. These individuals and organization have professional ethics and are entitled to
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show public the truth. But the sad part is that they have also started relying upon the self

reported news as the source of information and they broadcast it without any background

check. And often it is seen that these news channels have to apologise for something they

showed but it turned out to be fake.

But our research doesn’t focus upon the percent of fake news but focus upon the effect of

these self reported news that get circulated. What If a person saw a news that was fake but

failed to watch the apology by the channel about that particular news. So he/she would

believe that it was true and that may instil misconception and even hatred for a particular

topic or section. What worse can happen than an individual hating something but all this

time the reason of hate was baseless.

SELF RESEARCH ABOUT NEWS SEEN

OVER INTERNET

1% 12%
18%

ALWAYS
SOMETIMES
NEVER
69% DON’T KNOW

INTERPRETATION: The above survey proved very crucial as it showed how prone people

can be to fake news as almost 69 percent of them didn’t cross check the topics they saw
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over the internet. Reason for this can be poor news filtration by social media companies and

also the deteriorating quality of professional media houses.

Ignorance of people simply cannot be the excuse for this as people see news thinking in

mind that it will be legit. Its just like a student always trust his teacher. Only 4% of UK

adults can correctly identify whether a news story is true or fake, according to a recent

survey by Channel 4 as part of its Fake News Week.

CONCLUSION: The research included the various aspects of self reported news and

how they penetrate deep into the society causing various problems that may

unfortunately outnumber the benefits. News channels, newspaper and social media

have been an established source of news and in particular self reported news. The self

reported news was first of all recognized as a threat because its not based on

professional reporting but on personal accounts so it ought to contain personal views

and slight nuances. But it was more alarming because all these self reported news

were widely being used by media houses as well as shared on social media. The first

thing that we noticed from our survey was that youth had the largest share when

following the self reported news was concerned. And it is self explanatory when we

see all those memes and jokes made of pieces of self reported news or information

where usually the person making it say absurd comments or make use of offensive

languages. The youth is the workforce for the work engine of the world and their view

towards the world should be unbiased or at least their biases should be based on

rational reasons. So the most affected generation was youth and one more reason for
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that was: this population uses social media the most and social media is the platform

that is the hub of self-reported news. But interestingly the youth is the one that cross

checks the news the most and so it creates a ripple. When one of the peer cross check

the fact he coveys it to others and then this eradicates the problem of fake news. Also

the learned youth is now being increasingly sensitive in their public life and

irrespective of their personal belief they tend to support rational and ethical ideas that

society is in favour of. But the problem is with those of age 35 and above as these are

the working class population that earn or are not as active on internet as the youth is

for the purposes like surfing the internet randomly and finding abstract topics to read.

They get to know a news and then they just tend to stick to it without further reading

into the topic and without cross checking because this age group is generally busy. So

there are various ideas and views that these news instil in this population and these

views can be very harmful as well.

A survey has found India has more fake news and internet hoaxes than
anywhere else in the world.
The report, by Microsoft, found 64 per cent of Indians had encountered fake
news, compared to the global average of 57 per cent.

Meanwhile, 54 per cent had come across internet hoaxes, in comparison to 50

per cent worldwide.

Internet hoaxes in particular have had murderous consequences in India. The

Standard reported how more than 40 people were killed in the country last
year amid a plague of smartphone-fuelled mob murders by ordinary citizens. So
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in this case the impact on the adults are severe with very dangerous
consequences on sensitive issues. Adults also tend to limit the teenagers based
on their view they sometime develop are a result of wrongly reported news by
civilians like danger for student in a particular area or any other such hoax
spread by people.
So it becomes important for audiences to filter the news by themselves. A
possible solution for it is that whenever they see a piece of self-reported news
on howsoever credible the source is they should cross check the information
being portrayed in the video or text. The news agencies share equal or even
more responsibility to filter the news.
They need to suspend usage of self-reported news and should start reporting
news by themselves, that they do but whenever they find a civilian sending a
video to them on a certain issue then they are just too casual to actually go at the
sight and investigate. This is what the actual essence of journalism is.
Filtration, intellectual reflection and unbiased views are the attributes required
by an individual to save himself/herself from the expansive sea of fake news
that has penetrated the society and has tempered people’s mindset.
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REFERENCES

Survey of the Media, 2005;EURO RSCG Magnet & Columbia University

Brill, 2001; Ketterer, 1998; Lasica, 1998; Online News Association, 2002.

Flanagin & Metzger, 2000; Johnson & Kaye, 1998; Kiousis,2001; Credibility of Internet
information

Lazer, David M. J.; et al. Science, March 2018. DOI: 10.1126/science.aao2998.

Pew Research Center survey,2017

Middle-berg/Ross Media Survey, 2002

Report by the Project for Excellence in Journalism,2004