Iran + Twitter = Trust, But Don't Verify

Okay, so I must admit to some confusion over what the heck we journalists are doing with the concept of verification in this new age of Twitter news. Don't get me wrong. I am not anti-Twitter. At this point in the insfosphere that would be like, say, being "anti-oxygen." You can choose that stance right now, but Twitter is the oxygen in social networking and information distribution online right now. Question though: how do we use it? I'll be real: have we lost our ever-loving minds trying to pretend we know what's going on in 140 words or less... especially when it comes to geopolitics...specifically Iran?

Over the past couple days I have been following a couple people on Twitter who have been waist-deep in "retweeting" (i.e., re-broadcasting) information about the Iran rebellion.

One of them is @GeniusBastard. (Despite my criticism-to-come of the journalistic vetting, I will say GB is top-notch and is working from a technology P.O.V. not journalistic verification P.O.V.) Anyway, @GeniusBastard was the first person in my Twitter circle that I saw re-tweeting the info from @StopAhmadi, which mixed live reports and calls for new internet proxies so that people could access the 'net despite government censorship.

The problem was that over the next couple days, @StopAhmadi and the people who retweeted started asking people not to retweet the handles of real (i.e., non-government agent, non-impostor) protestors.

So I asked this:

@Geniusbastard who is keeping track of #iranelection Twitter usernames and how are folks supposed to know who to trust?

He replied:

@faraichideya Bottom line, at this point, stick with the sources you've had. We don't want to list the good ones because of Big Brother.

And three hours ago, @StopAhmadi posted this:

@StopAhmadi Going for "radio silence" now. Plz RT my previous news 'n watch 4 fake RT's #gr88 #iranelection

Add to that the idea that you can pull a V for Vendetta stunt and have everyone pretend to be from Iran ("RT Iran: pls everyone change your location on tweeter to IRAN inc timezone GMT+3.30 hrs - #Iranelection"), and you have a big fat mess.

So, how do you verify? Well... some people say, just... don't. It's a cul-de-sac you can go around again and again. I am not saying don't follow Twitter (again, that would be useless). I do want to follow Twitter, on #IranElections and all else. What I don't want to do is give up the idea of verifying information.

And neither, apparently, does John Stewart. Check his brutal riff from The Daily Show on Wednesday. (I should make it clear that while he sticks the shiv in CNN this time, the infatuation with technology-at-all-journalistic-costs is a cross-cable network phenomenon. And I don't say that because I was just a guest on CNN on Wednesday, either. Tune in to Fox and MSNBC, both of which I've also been on in the past, and check it yourself. But first, enjoy the slice-n-dice mastery by J.S.)

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Irandecision 2009 - CNN's Unverified Material
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Jason Jones in Iran

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Farai Chideya has been a media practitioner, author, and critic for 20 years, working for places from Newsweek to CNN to NPR. She's the founder of PopandPolitics.com. Her most recent book is a popcult novel, "Kiss the Sky."

Follow Farai Chideya on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@faraichideya

Comments

[Robcitations]

New modes of social interaction have permit people outside Iran to play their own small role in fueling protest against the current regime. A thorough article about this is on www.asiachroniclenews.com

[Farai Chideya]

I can see that more and more folks are picking up on the Twittering Iran story. So I'm curious: what do folks think will come out of it.... I mean, what will journalists and news consumers learn from this change in how we get information?

[Bart Motes - Huffpost Blogger]

The fawning over twitter is as amazing as it is pathetic. NPR has had some good stories depressurizing the twitter balloon, but CNN seems entirely wrapped up in it....not to mention easy to punk. Over the weekend, they posted a ra ra Live Free or Die! message supposedly from Iran.....except that it had the hash tag #tcot, or top conservative on twitter. I'm sure someone in the Alabama Republican Party or a similarly situated person is laughing their asses off at CNN right about now.

Hype + clueless old people+ some marginal utility = Twitter rage.

And let's not forget the feel good factor of thinking that you are somehow making a difference changing your location to Tehran. The real work of the 2nd Iranian revolution is being done on the streets. And you can tweet me on that.

[dhv]

PS – Re my previous post: Just to reiterate, I love Ms. Chideya’s work and offer my comment with respect. I was deeply sorry to lose her voice (and the voices of her colleagues) when NPR elected—wrongly I feel—to discontinue broadcasting News & Notes. I look forward to continuing to learn from her insights and views on her blog and elsewhere.

[dhv]

I have great admiration for Farai Chideya, so I’m surprised at the critical tone of her piece. She stated:

“…have we lost our ever-loving minds trying to pretend we know what's going on in 140 words or less... especially when it comes to geopolitics... specifically Iran?”

I don’t believe that is what anyone is “pretending.” Of COURSE 140 words doesn’t cover it. And, certainly, not any one person posting on Twitter reflects the entire, complex picture. But the whole, with thousands of messages—along with photos and video—from many who are undeniably in the thick of things, is certainly greater than the sum of the parts. One can surely get the drift and find many starting points to dig deeper.

Which leads to something else Ms. Chideya said:

“So, how do you verify? Well... some people say, just... don't.” And “What I don't want to do is give up the idea of verifying information.”

I would say OF COURSE don’t give up verifying information. Using the Twitter community as a source AND applying principles of journalism aren’t mutually exclusive. Good reporting can include both.

For me, at the end of the day, the real point about Twitter in this case isn’t “how do WE use it” (posed at the beginning of the article) but how the opposition in Iran IS using it—despite any “verification” issues—to mobilize a fluid, viable, organized movement that is effectively challenging the status quo. THAT’s amazing, inspiring, and worth recognizing.

[Farai Chideya]

Here's my problem with what's going on, dhv.... the reality is that there are a few ways to report a story, including but not limited to:

--being on location, and crosshatching your info with other sources
---- verifying multiple sources in remote locations

I think the missed factor here is "verifying." I went to Louisiana and MS for nine days to cover Katrina. Talked to a lot of people; saw some tough things. Stayed in the same clothes for three days. Slept on a floor. But at the same time I was constantly checking for info from outside sources to see how it reverbed with what I was seeing.

OF COURSE good info includes both. But I think the problem is that people are not crosshatching information sources. One news network may have a reporter on the ground (perhaps undercover) plus twitter feeds plus State Department statements, etc. But has anyone asked the reporters on the ground to try to link with online sources and verify their identity? I'm not clear that that's being asked... I've seen no evidence.

Journalism is about taking risks. I feel like a coward compared to many of my colleagues. But the reality is that many newsorgs have cut reporting budgets to the bone, and neither seem to have the moxy nor foresight to have a reporter on the ground... and ask them to verify.

[mdh6604]

We have witnessed the sacrifice of facts for expediency for far too long in journalism in recent years. Technology advances make it too easy for our watchdogs and commentators to take the easy way out.

A lot of journalists, unfortunately, are lazy by nature and don't want to spend the time to dig to verify reports to get to the truth and report the facts. Even if they're not lazy, the shredding of newsrooms as corporate media giants cut back on news gathering resources compounds the issue.

So we see a constant cycle of reporting what's hot at the moment --> get busted when you're wrong --> check the facts --> fall on the sword and apologize --> issue statement of clarification. Repeat.