Fake News Reporting Encourages Fighting Teachers

Generally addressed to the matter of linking and -

To the linker of "Detention for Being Right"
http://www.italknews.com/view_link.php?sid=8580

Original link for the story

Please take a look into the news link titled, "Detention for Being Right."

It direly lacks data! This is not news!

Who is Adam Hilliker? Who is Alex, and where was he studying? If Alex was detained, where? Who was Alex’s father? Can you explain why the note was dated 1994 and you posted it only now? Are you posting it as history? But how?

If this is news, you should have all the details a reader needs to know. Details may be able to answer questions and explain the nuances of a situation. As it is, your title needs explanation because it talks of a right that was abridged.

The reader is entitled to know what he or she is reading. News writing follows principles. It is not child’s play. Most important of all, with just that piece of note, can you identify your source? Any reader would be asking these questions because what was linked does not pass for news or anything. What was attached was merely a file - with no identification even.

In case of complaints, you would be left holding the bag. You have no one to attribute even what you claim in your title.

That said, one couldn’t just pick up anything and post it as news. I would not dignify that note even by acknowledging the difference between kilometer and mile. There was no real incident to base this on. One highlighted sentence does not make for news - no matter how grave the teacher's error is. At best, this piece of note should be found in a principal's office for resolution. Not in media.

You have a title that courts compassion. However, you took up a reporter’s privilege improperly. As it is, you can be mistaken as fooling the readers with your lack of data. Even if you were just linking, the responsibility falls on you to see to it that what you are linking passes for news – or editorial for that matter.

You see, one danger of merely linking this note is tantamount to encouraging learners to rebel against their teachers. Put yourself in the shoes of teachers and imagine how students – after reading what you posted - would treat you. That could be the situation in haphazardly treating information meant for news.

If this is ignorance, it would be understandable. If not, and if all reporters were like you, we'd better not read anything at all.

I take responsibility for everything I wrote here.
Jane Abao

Writing “News” dated 2008 is not Legitimate Media Work

Original link for the story

Some people take no thought of the news they link. However, not all news sources are credible. It is not enough just to pick up stories and link.

From the titles alone of these so-called news, you could see that they are catchy but misleading. However, these are calculated to be like that - to tickle your mind to read on if you are not careful.

Let's take this link newly posted as an example: “19 Year Old Diebold Technician Wins U.S. Presidency.” This means that the election is over and that this technician has already won. It is misleading, at the same time it appears legitimate. It makes people read on, but one has to have a critical eye.

The source, Avant News, “Tomorrow’s News Today,” is not given credibility by serious people. At most, this news source is a joke. It is only predictive or is making guesses and then writes “news” out of that guess – wild guess, no matter. It is making business out of news, but news that is merely speculative.

In principle, news is a reproduction of an event, hence the element of objectivity. But here, the business is to ride on an imagined future and an imagined news – so there is no objectivity. But there is money, of course.

Angling, you say? Angling does not necessarily mean you move away from what is true. To provide an angle to news means to project one part as the center or focus of your news. However, you do not fabricate the angle. It is already part of the truth that you deal with. You only enlarge it over the others – and yet you do not falsify anything unlike what this 2008 “news” had done.

This one is pure imagination – a fiction using the real name of a real person who is an international figure, just to be able to hinge upon public attention for increased readership.

Check, therefore, what is written in there before you do any linking. If you link these items, you do a great disservice to people who expect legitimate news. Moreover, you encourage the usurpation of true media work.

Read for items like “temporally realigned” – what ever that means – as an equivalent of an excuse or disclaimer when there would be complaints in the future.

Check on the date the news is supposed to have been written. It may be two years later yet.

To illustrate, read this item -

19 Year Old Diebold Technician Wins U.S. Presidency
Temporally realigned by admin on 2006/9/25 10:49:05 (7401 reads)
By Ion Zwitter, Avant News Editor
Washington, D.C., November 5, 2008

Have you noticed the date?

This is not legitimate news. People who do this cash in on entertainment rather than do true media work.

Mangled Tapes set to make Muslims hit Christian Preacher

Pampanga, Philippines – First, it was the al Qaeda terrorists who were found to be downloading data from the Internet, altering the context by adding, subtracting, or twisting information in order to fit a desired end; finally burning them into DVDs and VCDs, and then distributing these to their people. Some days later, this would lead their Muslim brothers to attack an establishment.

Recently, a repeat of the whole thing was observed – only that it was happening in this part of the country, and only that the perpetrators were not al Qaeda but the enemies of Bro. Eli Soriano, the most controversial preacher of today.

The VCDs are believed to be the handiwork of a group openly against Soriano, Presiding Minister of the Church of God International, and are set to motivate some Muslims to confront him at the ADD Convention Center.

The compact discs bore contents profiled from the words of the preacher taken at various events to make it appear that he was disparaging Muhammad, motivating the Muslims to attempt attacking the Ang Dating Daan (ADD) Convention Center this week in Apalit, Pampanga, north of Manila.

In the convention center, they thought, was Bro. Eli Soriano, who has been away from the country for about a year already, preaching to his constituents abroad. The voices the Muslims heard were about Soriano making “sweeping and defamatory remarks” against the Muslims and their prophet Muhammad.

But once in Apalit, the Muslims had to go home - hungry and dismayed. A Muslim leader, equally bewildered, came to fetch them. They were being used, he said.

In some video footages taken from the event and transcribed soonest, Datu Amparol Ambiong, Chairman of the Muslim Peace and Order Coordination Council, was seen explaining that he had come and had to speak because he had heard some Muslims were going to stage a rally in Apalit, and that he had never heard of such an announcement from the Ulammah. Among Muslims, there must be a community consensus first before anything of this kind would be held.

If there is any rally, Ambiong said, the reason must come from the heart. Apparently, they were just gathered by a group that had promised them some financial support.

Ambiong said, he had seen some 17 buses of the supposed rallyists and had acknowledged that some of the passengers were Muslims who were even his own relatives. He said he even had wanted to slap a relative who did not want to hear reasons. When the Datu asked for their leader, he was told that he had already left, having learned that Ambiong was arriving.

They must go home, the Datu was heard telling the police. They’ve been here for quite a while already. However, the police would not let them leave. The police said, he had heard that they‘d attack the Convention Center, once they pass that way. The police had detained the buses for a while as they had no permit.

Obviously, what money was promised to be forthcoming never came. As it was, these supposed attackers had been served only sandwiches and eggs. Yet, they were to go and force their way into the ADD Convention Center.

Money promised was probably why Ambiong’s relatives refused to go home. They had come all the way to Apalit from where they came from. In Soriano’s camp, however, it is no secret who could have motivated this group. In a TV program of a rival religious group, which Soriano had been exposing for their false religious beliefs, some 2-4 TV hosts had openly been inciting Muslims to hit Soriano, giving directions as to what places he frequents.

Months before this, the Quezon City Judge Vicencio Baclig had issued a warrant of arrest against Soriano. The order stemmed from a libel complaint filed by two Muslim groups headed by Haji Mokhiar Sujail on February 21, 2005. The complainants were demanding P1.25 billion in damages.

Soriano’s explanation was that his discussion about Muslims did not intend to insult their faith. His discussions of any religious groups were honest and did not intend to insult any religious sector. It is said, the Muslim leaders understood Soriano’s explanations.

Soriano is the same fearless preacher known for his acid tongue. Whatever he sees as false, he doesn’t hesitate to correct – over television, radio, and the Internet. Known for his expertise in the Bible, he is believed to be God-sent as he can answer all questions from the Bible live. He has a program running for more than three decades now in the radio, TV and the Internet, titled, “Ask Soriano, the Bible will answer.” Recently, Soriano has been getting waves of attention from believers in the United States and Europe after being rooted in Asia, as they believe they have not heard anyone speak as authoritatively as he does.

Back home in the Philippines, he is the envy of his enemies for his great understanding of the Bible that they have filed libel case after libel case against him with the intention of devastating him. This is because Soriano had been exposing the evil in so-called “tithing laws” and other false beliefs where pastors collect hoards of money from their members but do not actually care for their spiritual needs. Their beliefs are erroneous, misplaced in time and in context, and based on personal interests, Soriano said. According to him, tithing is Mosaic Law, applicable only during the time of Moses. Now, pastors are on the run for their money should their people believe Soriano.

Soriano said he has no debate with the Muslims as they use the Koran and not the Bible and so there is no common reference to speak of.

Poverty knocking on their doors

The message was urgent. It was sent late in the night and was addressed to all, especially the women. "Be careful. When you see a child crying, take that child to the police station. Don't mind the address he is giving. It's only a ploy."

It reported the latest of capers the foolish of this world had cooked up. It explained the modus operandi even. Translated from Tagalog, it said -

A young child would be found in a corner crying as though lost. When approached, the child would provide an address. If you take that child to that address, once you press the doorbell, you would be shocked out of your senses and then dragged inside. There you would be robbed and raped. The child crying is actually a lure.

In cyberspace, a postee advertised for a baby that he was selling. "Cute one. PM me," said the post. "What? That's criminal of you!" came the reply.

Criminal is the ready name we put on all these things that we cannot readily understand. When one decides to sell his soul, or suddenly has calculated that he has enough blood for the bank, or has an organ to exchange for money in answer to the call of hunger, we simply call it criminal. The scale is said to have tipped too far, and we must look deeper.

The priest who is supposed to teach the people has his own ideas of goodness, too. Olaw, for one, can tell the world so.

Olaw is a blind woman who lives quietly in the province. She takes care of herself and whatever friendly neighbors give her is never enough for her needs, let alone the scanty attention to her condition. One day, she was suddenly found heavy with child while without a husband. Her landlord had pumped good sense into her head. She must have a child to take care of her. And so Olaw believed him. A priest who had rented a room next to hers took the proposition as fitting and proper.

Tabio was born, but just the same, got married, had his own family, and left her alone. Olaw is alone again without the child supposed to earn for her.

Dragon, a street child, has a story not any different. Street children are part of the story of the mean streets of the Philippines. They roam the city looking for answers to life. Dragon was one of them. He did not know how old he was, nor did he know his name, nor his parents' name. He readily raises the hand of every visitor and presses it on his forehead, one's heart could melt. He would dance and one would clap in approval. Like doing some magic, he flexes his right palm up, down, up, down, up. He's giving you a signal, and you should know what he means. Dragon was born a beggar. Or was he?

The police found Dragon just walking the streets and begging for food. He was brought to the Youth Center in Cagayan de Oro City, south of the country, no address, and no name. The blackboard at the entrance of the Center, however, had details about him: Dragon had a case and it was scheduled for hearing.

Sis Nene took to liking Dragon, aged 4 or 5. Once out of the Center, she bought him food and new clothes and brought him home to show the cute child off to her sister. The following day, they went out together to buy a pair of new shoes. The moment Sis Nene turned her back, Dragon was gone - back to sleeping on cold concrete floors in the city. It was the only life he knew. Dragon was not missed at the Center, however. It is already saddled with 75 more young boys to feed, to teach, and to care with the little that the government could give.

At one end of the Youth Center, a young man, well dressed, and half-blind, sat quietly and appeared waiting for someone. The guard said he had been visiting for almost two months already but seemed not to be getting what he was coming for. “He needs to buy cornea. Would you be selling yours?"

The inmates at that Youth Center are young and frivolous, but at their age, no one is foolish enough to think of selling one's own cornea. This was the guard’s assessment. Although most of these boys at this Center are offenders, some are said to be victims of parental abuse and neglect and would prefer to stay rather than go home. Now that they are there, people think they could give up some of their body parts.

There are many Olaws and Dragons among us, including the child luring victims to doors with shock effects, the man selling a baby he may or may not own, the one who tries to calculate how much blood he could sell for today’s portion of rice. They got to live, each to his own style.

No one talks about what they have but they know it. Indeed, it has been with them for as long as they could remember. Whatever logic is there that one is at the top, another one is at the center, and they at the bottom, maybe for balance. Heck, it’s not something worth thinking about - when the stomach churns from hunger.

Aren’t these things natural? They have long cradled deprivation like some do their teddy bears. And no one is asking why. And so the story goes.