Tazeen Akhtar
Member Media Safty Committee of Council of Pakistan Newspapers Editors CPNE
ISLAMABAD: 18 Nov 2024 – Fake news is the hottest issue in news and media industry worldwide while mainstream media of Pakistan has been found doing the same with full liberty thanks to being the “leading media” and “trend setter media” of the country. The two titles are not given by the gov or the public or any media organization but self assumed and self claimed.
To pose itself as leading and trendsetting , sometimes it opts to fake news and that happened by latest on 17 November 2024, THE NEWS ON SUNDAY.
It appears on the epaper of the News but disappears on clicking it that means it has been removed from the web epaper.
In Daily Jang the main story on 17 Nov is there and not removed
The media house published a lead story on front pages of its newspapers THE NEWS and Daily JANG Urdu in which Mr. Saleh Zaafir , the most senior staff attributed a statement to Spokesperson of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan that she never made.
The story was about the letter from US Congressmen and women to President Biden on Imran Khan’s release. The staff reporter not only attributed a statement of MOFA Pakistan to the letter but selected the words as well. He could have been little safe by “FO has rejected the letter” but he thought better to choose the proper words ” Exercise in Futility.”
MOFA reacted strongly on the “story” as , “We reject the story attributed to the Foreign Office carried by the Daily News Today. We are taking the matter with the editors of the newspapers about their editorial standards and journalistic ethics. We advise the media to seek confirmation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before publishing stories attributed to them.”
The paper published the APOLOGY at the same place on front page in THE NEWS ON MONDAY.
It mostly happens in between the officials , politicians that they issue statements and when have to face the reaction on the publication , take a uturn asap and disown the statement. In that case, the reporters take stand and papers do not publish apology, contradiction. But here, as the most powerful media house has taken no time to publish the apology, expresses the fault of the reporter.
Here it is also worth noting that the reporters sometimes play extra bold taking risks only to win some lead in the field but the gates in the org , 1- News Editor 2- Editor are supposed to stop the error, erroneous story. This false story could have been checked before publishing if the News Editor had applied mind and found out that the words “Exercise in Futility” or any statement of MOFA in this regard has not poured in from any other source.
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Was it exclusive talk of the reporter with the spokesperson? As per the “Story”, the Spokesperson MOFA Pakistan said, ” We ignore the letter by a few members of American Parliament to “Lame-Duck” President.” Further , ” (Spokesperson) terms it blatant interference by lawmakers of foreign country in domestic affairs of Pakistan.”
No reporter can file a complete statement with many sentences and specific words like Lame-Duck etc on his own. Here the matter becomes complicated.
Next question is , the Spokesperson said the same but it was off the record? And the reporter brought it on the record irresponsibly?
The media men sometimes talk about this in lighter mood that “He said this while talking off the record.”
Whatever it is , it is not a simple matter like a story is published and the next day it is contradicted and apologized. Something else has happened here. Whatever it is,it is between the reporter and the spokesperson.
The real story can be unfolded in coming days when the reporter will share it with his close friends, if he has any. Last but not the least, it is not a proper way to be the leading or trend setter. Lets see who is the real Lame Duck in this matter………
