One of the many insidious ways in which fake news gets passed around as fact is through WhatsApp forwards. These have become a notorious source of false information that can sometimes lead to all manner of incorrect and even dangerous public perception. However, the least new channels are expected to do is fact-check their own WhatsApp forwards before reading them out live on TV.
A video posted on Twitter shows Times Now’s lead anchors Navika Kumar and Rahul Shivshankar reading out the names of 30 apparently deceased Chinese soldiers from a fake WhatsApp forward.
They can clearly be seen reading the exact words from WhatsApp.
Apart from the fact that they are reading unverified news straight off WhatsApp live on air, it was also found that the source of this information was fake and there has been no such news of Chinese casualties.
People online slammed their shoddy journalism.
In the current climate, it’s doubly important to be sure about the news you’re reading, and to make an effort to verify everything. Gaffes like this can lead to more serious issues in the dissemination of news.