SYKES' TAKE ON - MISINFORMATION

Up to the start of the Internet Age, misinformation was mainly the prerogative of the newspapers.   They would report an event, political meeting, protest etc in a particular way depending on their often political affiliations.  Thus we mainly had a left-wing or right-wing press.  However, in this age of incredible communication we have new ways of 'getting the information out'.  And this now means we have much more misinformation being disseminated on forums, websites etc.   We read of such and such happening, but is that the truth?  From one perspective we can read that so-and-so did such-and-such, from another view we are told that this is not true, so try this version.  A recent example is the piece in the newspapers re the visit of the CPS to Portugal.  The forums went into overdrive; arrests were imminent, possible charges were due, and one poster managed to inform the world that a certain family was already in Portugal, thus implying an immediate incarceration and trial.  In fact it emerged a bit later that the person who came out with this was listening to an obscure radio station and heard the wrong name.  But that was what they wanted to hear and what they wanted the rest of the world to believe, so another piece of misinformation went viral.   It is a fact that, if you repeat something again and again, it becomes the truth.  So, as the year progresses we can expect more 'truths' to emerge.

Today a report turned up in the Telegraph which is a perfect example of misinformation due to bad reporting.  Immediately a well known anti troll charged onto the Justice forum slobbering at the news.  Here is what she was so eager to broadcast:

By Katy Brand.  1:41PM BST 05 Jul 2013
Who would be Kate McCann? The kind of pressure, torment and double-edged hope she must live with everyday would surely have crippled most of us by now. To lose a child is bad enough, but to then be made a suspect in that child’s murder, to be exploited and intruded upon by newspapers as detailed in her evidence to the Leveson Inquiry, to deal with hundreds of supposed sightings of her little girl in the months and years that have followed from that fateful night, endless speculation, hopes raised and dashed, the break up of her marriage and feeling that this will never be resolved.

However this is a totally erroneous statement, but of course an item of great import to the less than intelligent poster who will slam up information without a thought crossing their shallow brains that, since nowhere else has stated this, perhaps Ms Katy Brand has made a cock-up.  But no, anything that can cause more grief and upset to the McCanns is grist to their mill.  Sick and also sad creatures.

UPDATE.  The Telegraph has moved very fast to correct their stupid mistake.  Here is the amended section:

Who would be Kate McCann? The kind of pressure, torment and double-edged hope she must live with everyday would surely have crippled most of us by now. To lose a child is bad enough, but to then be made a suspect in that child’s murder, to be exploited and intruded upon by newspapers as detailed in her evidence to the Leveson Inquiry, to deal with hundreds of supposed sightings of her little girl in the months and years that have followed from that fateful night, endless speculation, hopes raised and dashed, and feeling that this will never be resolved.