A recent perusal through my Facebook feed was even more infuriating than usual, and made me wonder, when will the accuracy backlash begin?
Here’s what I’m talking about: I was scrolling along and saw a startling headline on what I have always considered a credible local news source. It read, “Student dies after shooting herself in front of classmates in high school cafeteria, police say.”
I have a high school age daughter. I am a former Director of Marketing and Communications for a large school district. I still have many friends in similar roles across our area. “Where did this happen? Who needs help? Is my kid safe?” Those questions immediately ran through my head.
I had to click on the comments to get to the link. I had to click on the link to get to the story. It was on the local TV station’s web page with their standard graphics. Then I discovered this terrible thing had happened….565 miles away.
This was textbook clickbait. We all see it and have come to expect it. What was troubling here is that an organization that is supposed to be known for its journalism is now adopting what, in my view, is somewhere between unethical and downright fraudulent.
I expect this from some of these “made up” information sites along with the known trash tabloids on Facebook. I do not expect it from the station I often turn to for my news. It is another step in a very bad direction, and it got me thinking: “When will the backlash come?”
I did what one does on social media when they are upset and disappointed. I left a critical comment. Some responded, agreeing with my take. A few more chimed in on their own. So, with a small group of people, the station’s reputation suffered a little bit of damage that day. Nothing fatal, but a few people are now questioning their credibility. We all know that sort of negativity can snowball quickly on socials.
I have to think that snowballing will be coming soon. Maybe not for this individual TV station, but certainly for practitioners of these “bait and switch” tactics that have been illegal in business for decades but somehow are considered acceptable when it comes to online information. I know my habits are changing. I block pages that burn me in this way. Usually after dropping a nasty comment. I wonder how many others are doing the same thing.
As the person who oversees content at Chemistry PR and Multimedia I will always preach clarity and transparency to our clients. A few dozen, or even a few thousand extra clicks are not worth eroding your credibility or angering your audience. Every post like this runs the risk of being “the one” that goes viral and sparks a national outrage. When the accuracy backlash occurs, do you want your name attached to the post that caused it? 100% NO.
As a former journalist I hope this was some sort of a “one-off” where an overeager, junior producer tried to get clever, only to get reined in by wiser, more experienced colleagues. I’m not naming the organization here because I want to give them that benefit of the doubt. But the fact that the post was never edited causes me concern. Also, I’ve seen a few other posts that, while not as blatant, seem to lean into the same tactics. If this is a new policy or practice on their part, I will be out. Soon.
If this is the case, we also have a bigger problem. Content creators trying to make a buck are one thing. Journalists are quite another. If the news organization you trust to keep you informed is allowing the lines to blur between journalism and schlock social media marketing, it is probably time to find another source for news. If they won’t listen to our comments, maybe a shrinking audience’s impact on revenue will do the trick.
I don’t know when the accuracy backlash will come, but I can assure you that it needs to. Quickly.
