Distortion of facts worries media expert

Veteran journalist Mark Pinkstone expresses a deep regret about the proliferation of fake news and misinforamtion circulated by unprofessional citizen reports during the critical time of political crisis in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong's media industry needs to be regulated to clamp down on misinformation and fake media outlets that have been stirring up trouble in the city's ongoing social unrest, argues a veteran journalist.

During the four-month-long protests, many "untrained", "unprofessional" citizen journalists who are active on different social media platforms have been creating trouble not only for people who really want to understand what's happening in the city, but also the city's professional reporters, Mark Pinkstone told China Daily in an interview.

"The media landscape has changed considerably and there don't appear to be real reporters anymore," said Pinkstone, a current affairs commentator and former government chief information officer prior to 1997.

The way social media operated in covering the recent protests in Hong Kong has magnified the phenomenon, said Pinkstone, who has lived in Hong Kong for 50 years.

One of the troubles with reporters today is that some of those who are covering the unrest are bloggers, he said, citing a friend who's a press cameraman.

He said his friend had complained that these people, who have no training in journalism, always stand in the way of cameras, blocking the police during their operations.

In addition, citizen journalists who have no clue about the rule of law, libel and slander may become the source of misinformation being spread widely on the internet.

"They (some citizen journalists) produce stories libeling people. They could be jailed for doing this." said Pinkstone, adding that both the SAR government and the industry itself are concerned about the problem. "Reporters are responsible for covering an event, not stirring up trouble."

Moreover, there are also some fake reporters on the frontline causing problems too, he said.

With the protests entering their fifth month, the police said they found some protesters have been using fake identities to pose as reporters to obstruct officers on duty. Posts about "fake journalists education package" were also reportedly spreading among protesters on the internet.

"There is no control of social media (in Hong Kong)," said Pinkstone.

Thus, Hong Kong has to devise a mechanism, either under the government or an industry association, to register all media practitioners, including social media reporters, he argued. The media industry may need a watchdog to police those working in the sector.

Pinkstone suggested that people using social media always have to query what they read. "We're not getting balanced reports, especially on social media."