The media can be so cruel. I know journalists have to do everything they can to get the photos, videos, quotes and information needed to tell stories and report news, but sometimes they hurt people in the process and that is wrong.
One Direction member, Liam Payne, died after falling from a third-floor balcony at the CaSur hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 16th October. American Tabloid news organization, TMZ, published photos of Liam's body on their website, which is disgusting! Whether it is a celebrity or not, Nobody wants to see a dead body on the news or in any publication. Imagine how his parents and two sisters are feeling right now. They have just lost their 31-year-old son and brother and the whole world is talking about him and now they have to see his body splashed allover the news. Executive producer Michael Babcock defended it saying, they were trying to confirm reports that Liam had died. Surely there are other ways of confirming it? How would he and the staff feel if it was one of their loved ones? I'm sure they would be very angry. Shame on you TMZ!
Liam Payne's ex fiancé, 23-year-old Maya Henry, had issued a cease-and-desist order against him last week, because he had been repeatedly contacting her, her family and friends. Many fans have been blaming her for his death and saying her taking legal action against him caused trouble for him. That is not true. Liam sadly had a lot of problems. Maya may have had issues with him but she didn't kill him. There is an investigation going on and no one knows anything for sure yet. A few major news publications have been using photos of a girl and saying that is Maya but it is actually a content creator from Toronto Canada, also named Maya Henry. She posted a video on TikTok talking about the situation and how it is affecting her. People have been leaving mean comments on all her social media platforms and she is scared to even go outside because of what the media has done.
This isn't the first time the media has incorrectly identified someone. After the Westfield Bondi Junction stabbing in April, Channel Seven's Weekend Sunrise program and social media incorrectly named university student, Ben Cohen as the killer before police officially identified 40-year-old Joel Cauchi as the real killer, He asked police to pursue criminal charges for criminal defamation, menacing, harassing and offensive conduct and inciting violence on racial grounds.
Remember the kidnapping of for-year-old Cleo Smith in 2021? That missing child case gripped the nation and everyone was so happy when she was recused from a strangers home. An aboriginal man, Terence Kelly, was charged with her abduction, but Channel Seven had published photos of Terrance Flowers, another aboriginal man who used his mother's maiden name, Kelly, on Facebook. Four photos were taken from his Facebook and posted in an online news article and on social media wit the heading, "Pictured: The man accused of abducting Cleo Smith." As a result of Seven's mistake, Terrance Flowers was the subject of hate around Australia and he was hospitalized with a severe panic attack. Seven did quickly remove the photos and issue an apology but the damage was already done.
These people are just living their regular lives, studying and working hard/ Being falsely named as a criminal or being blamed for someone's death causes significant distress to them and their families. The media is defaming them and could cause them to lose their jobs and all sorts of trouble.
All journalists should do research and ensure accuracy in the stories they publish and put out into the world. When they incorrectly identify someone or publish false information, they hurt innocent people, cause damage and also make their own publication unreliable. There is such a thing as news worthiness. Before posting an article, photo or video, ask yourself, What are the benefits of posting this? What will people learn from it? Will we lose anything by not posting it? We all should be careful with what we say to others and share on social media.
Do better!
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