I did it, and it’s so embarrassing.
I am one of thousands, maybe even millions, of people who retweeted a quote, part of which was attributed falsely to Martin Luther King, Jr.
The quote is:
“I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
It began circulating online the day after the U.S. killed Osama Bin Laden, according to The Washington Post. I loved the quote because it captured the strange irony of celebrating death.
King’s quote actually is:
“Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate:only love can do that.”
The author of the remainder of the quote depends on who you ask.
I did not check the quote before I retweeted it. I went against my journalistic training of verification. I deserve to feel silly.
My journalistic faux pas was small. It didn’t harm anyone or do irreparable damage. But anyone who values reputation, including myself, must be more careful when flippantly posting or retweeting information. This is especially true for traditional journalists, on whom the public relies for accurate news.
Here are 5 digital points for accuracy checks, as writing by Lynn Walsh, chairwoman for the SPJ Generation J Committee:
1. Basic information. Remember to check things like names and ages when posting information about someone online.
2. Sharing links on social networks. I guess I learned this one the hard way.
3. Linking to information in stories. Your news organization is verifying the accuracy of any site to which you link. You are lending that site your credibility. Make sure it passes your verification and accuracy tests before you link.
4. Using websites as sources. You can find anything online and false content can look legitimate. Check it out before you quote it!
5. Identifying an individual. I cringe when I hear students in the Newsroom trying to identify people in photos. Inevitably, someone advises to look them up on Facebook to match the faces. This is a sloppy, lazy and error-riddled way to verify sources. If you use it as a first step, you then should find that individual and verify that it’s him/her in the photo.
For more information about Generation J, visit the organization’s website.
Is there an online verification point we missed? Have you ever made a faux pas like mine?
