This document discusses ethical issues journalists face when using social media. It addresses the differences between old and new media; how journalists must be careful about accuracy, copyright, and avoiding conflicts of interest online. The document also provides guidance on balancing personal and professional social media use; interacting with audiences; verifying user-generated content; correcting mistakes; and newsrooms' ownership of journalists' social media accounts. Journalists are told to uphold standards of truth, minimize harm, act independently and be accountable when using social media.

1. MOBILE AND SOCIAL MEDIA JOURNALISM
CHAPTER 8
Social media ethics and policies

2. •New mediums V/s old mediums :
 It’s important to remember the i-Phone is just a tool. It helps
you gather and transmit the information faster. It doesn’t
replace at all the old-school journalism, the ethics, the
context, there’s not an app for that. Now, as quickly as
information can be spread with these devices, it’s more
difficult than ever to retract bad information. So, reporters
using these tools should think twice before hitting send.

3. Incidents for understandings :
 Journalists are increasingly becoming the target of
online harrasment , as well as they should careful about
ethics .
 Episode of Felicia Son-mez
 Episode of Rhonda Lee, a meteorologist

4. The use of social media by journalists raises a host of
ethical and professional dilemmas addressed in this
chapter:
 The blurry line between professional and private social media lives
 Contacting sources via social media
 Interacting with the audience
 Verification of user-generated content

5. The use of social media by journalists raises a host of
ethical and professional dilemmas addressed in this
chapter:
 • Copyright and proper attribution of user-generated content
 • Correction guidelines: handling inaccurate or false information
reported on social media
 • News outlets’ “ownership” of their journalists’ social media
accounts

6. Applying journalism ethics to social media
 Seek truth and report it :
 Journalists should take responsibility for the accuracy of their
work.
 Verify information before releasing it.
 Use original sources whenever possible.
 Remember that neither speed nor format excuses inaccuracy.
 Provide context.
 Take special care not to misrepresent or oversim-plify in
promoting, previewing, or summarizing a story.
 Gather, update, and correct information through the life of a story.

7.  Minimize harm :
 Avoid pandering to lurid curiosity, even if others do so.
 ∘Consider the long-term implications of the extended reach and
permanence of publication.
 Provide updated and more complete information as appropriate.
 ∘
 • Act independently:
 Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived.
 ∘Distinguish news from advertising and shun hybrids that blur the
lines between the two.
 Prominently label sponsored content.

8.  • Be accountable and
transparent :
 Explain ethical choices and processes to
audiences.
 Acknowledge mistakes and correct them
promptly and promi-nently.
 Explain corrections and clarifcations
carefully and clearly.

9. Balancing professional and personal accounts
and activities :
 You should have a public Face-book page as a journalist and a
personal account that you keep private but you should never
assume that it’s private.
 You never know who in your “friend” group might see something
you posted on Face-book and share it in some way.
 Even your private accounts should be managed with caution,
particularly when it comes to political views.

10. Newsroom social media policies:
 News outlets have implemented
social media policies that defne
and manage journalists’ use of
social media, indicating what is
and is not permitted on these
platforms.
 Newsroom policies convey to staff
and the public that standards and
accountability are important to a
news organization.
 They provide a best-practices
guide that can be consulted when
issues arise, which promotes
consistent standards within a news
outlet.

11. Contacting sources on social media:
 Just as you would in person, be upfront and honest when contacting
sources on social media.
 Contact sources through one of your professional accounts that states
in the profile you’re a reporter.
 You should also immediately tell the source that you’re a journalist
and explain why you’re reaching out.
 Make your intentions clear.
 What’s the story you’re working on? How will the information you
gather be used?
 If you decline a source’s friend request, explain your reasoning to the
source. Whatever you choose to do, be consistent with your friending
activity.

12. Interacting with the audience:
 Your response will often be determined by the type and tone of the
audience member’s comment. It’s best to consult with a manager
when a comment is out of line or you aren’t sure how to respond,
as each news-room policy varies.
 Pick your battles. Stand up for your work, but don’t be defensive
when it comes to legitimate criticism about a story or your
reporting.
 Avoid getting into an extended back-and-forth with someone.
 It also opens the door to criticism. Not responding can be viewed
as ignoring the commenter. On the other hand, engaging with
someone who is out of line could easily escalate

13. Verification of user-generated content:
 Misinformation—fake photos, altered video, rumors, posts from
unreliable sources, and the like—can spread like wildfre on social
media. Journalists have taken the bait, reporting inaccurate
information gathered from social media.
 A major challenge facing journalists is balancing the pressure to
publish quickly, particularly during breaking news, while
upholding journalistic standards. Speed versus accuracy. Often,
these are two competing values
 Cross-check information.
 A review of the original source’s social media/online history
 Contact the source

14. Correction guidelines:
 Acknowledge the error and push out the correction in the same
place where it was originally shared.
 Don’t just delete the post containing the incorrect information and
leave it at that. As the ONA ethics code notes, “That method does
not acknowledge the error and can leave misinformation
uncorrected.
 Create a new post that indicates you made an error, and explain
exactly what’s being corrected.
 In addition to the new post, add a comment with the correct
informa-tion to the original post.
 If a follower alerted you to the error, thank the person, and direct
him or her to the corrected post.

15. Ownership of social media accounts:
 An increasing number of newsrooms are claiming ownership of the
social media accounts used by journalists as part of their job
responsibilities.
 In some cases, journalists are allowed to create the accounts on
their own but required to submit their passwords to newsroom
management.
 Other times, the outlet creates the accounts on behalf of the
journalist and provides them with login credentials.

16. THANK YOU ……!