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Online newspapers fabricate rumors to attract readers

Online newspapers fabricate rumors to attract readers

Thursday, November 07, 2013, 18:50 GMT+7

Half a loaf of bread is still bread, but half the truth is no longer the truth.

However, publishing half the truth is becoming more and more common among several online newspapers in Vietnam, all of which fabricate sensational news to increase pageviews.

Even worse, they often publish an entirely made-up story relying on the fact that Vietnamese readers are afraid of involving in disputes.

Below, Tuoi Tre reviews several thrilling stories recently fabricated by websites masquerading as legitimate newspapers.

Publishing first, checking later

In early July, an online newspaper published a story claiming that Ho Chi Minh City authorities issued a regulation to ban women over 33 years old from having children.

It stunned readers and provoked countless comments from the local internet community.

Several days later, it was found out that a ‘journalist’ of the paper intentionally misread a statement of Ms. To Thi Kim Hoa – head of the population and family planning department in HCMC – and published ‘half the truth’.

In response, Ms. Hoa admitted she had said many women over 33 refused to have babies to make time for their careers but she had never issued or heard of such a regulation. The paper pulled down the news with an apology. However, the news was already spread by dozens of other websites and facebook users, rousing ‘a storm of opinions on the internet community’.

Last September, another ‘journalist’ wrote a story about an adulterous affair between a father and his daughter-in-law. The story, published by an online newspaper, claimed that the two in question were unable to separate their bodies after having sex and were hospitalized in a provincial hospital in the Mekong Delta.

Authorities of the hospital denied that they had ever received or treated such a case.

Some friends who had accompanied ‘the journalist’ admitted that they and ‘the journalist’ heard the story, but it was just a joke told by a doctor during a field-working trip.

Before realizing it was a false story, the online community had responded with an abundance of comments discussing the depravity of the couple in the story.

Recently, another online newspaper spread a piece of news that ‘hủ tíu’ (noodle soup), a common street food, is cooked with sewer-rats. Immediately, it rapidly decreased hủ tíu sellers’ business, scaring away their regular customers.

Humorously, after authorities confirmed that no noodle soup in the city had been found to be made with sewer-rats, the website apologized but suggested that authorities ‘tighten control over food safety in the city.’

Unfortunately, these sensational rumors are often shared and linked by thousands of Facebook pages and websites.

Vietnamese showbiz stars such as director Charlie Nguyen, singer Tina Tinh, filmmaker Phan Dang Di, actor Binh Minh and his wife, musician Anh Quan, and singer My Linh all admitted that they had been victims of fabricated news stories by local online newspapers.

Anh Quan recalled that he was offered an interview with an online newspaper but refused it. But the following morning, an interview with him appeared in the paper with the subtitle saying ‘Anh Quan gets up early every morning to prepare food for his farm of 125 chickens.’

Fabricate news or face termination

Beyond fabricating stories, online newspapers often give a sensational title to a normal piece of news. For example, after seeing a singer introducing a music program on TV, a journalist may write a story with the title ‘singer A stops singing to work as a DJ’ for his online paper.

Editors help to create such ‘sensational titles’.

Journalists and editors of online newspapers who chase after thrilling news are given the nickname ‘vultures’ because they hunt for shocking celebrity news and disregard the pride, dignity, and families of their victims.

A journalist named P, who has just graduated from university and is working for a ‘sensational paper’, admitted that she has to produce 15 pieces of news a day, 40 percent of which is from ‘re-cooking’ stories of other newspapers.

She has no choice, otherwise she has to find another job, she said.

Tuoi Tre

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