Steve Jobs Had No Heart Attack...And Citizen Journalism Just Failed
What could possibly be bigger news than the supposed heart attack suffered by Apple CEO Steve Jobs? The fact that it's simply not true. The rumor which spread like wildfire across the internet this morning was based on a report from CNN's citizen journalism site, iReport.
According to citizen reporter, Johntw: "Steve Jobs was rushed to the ER just a few hours ago after suffering a major heart attack." Apple quickly squashed the story, claiming it to be untrue. Did citizen journalism just fail us? You bet it did.
The "Story"
The report about Steve Jobs appeared on CNN's citizen journalism site, iReport this morning. It read as follows:
Steve Jobs was rushed to the ER just a few hours ago after suffering a major heart attack. I have an insider who tells me that paramedics were called after Steve claimed to be suffering from severe chest pains and shortness of breath. My source has opted to remain anonymous, but he is quite reliable. I haven't seen anything about this anywhere else yet, and as of right now, I have no further information, so I thought this would be a good place to start. If anyone else has more information, please share it.
Silicon Alley Insider then proceeded to follow up, making phone calls to Apple. They were able to reach Katie Cotton, Vice President of Worldwide Communications, who replied saying "It is not true."
This Is Trouble
The question was then raised: do false reports like this damage CNN's credibility? The answer is yes, absolutely. This particular report may even lead to an SEC investigation where CNN will be asked to provide an IP address for the user who posted the story.
The problem here stems from the fact that because CNN has obviously decided not to police or edit the iReport section of their web site, the section is left wide open to "reporters" who want to wreak a little havoc.
But who are these citizen journalists? And how easy is it to become one?
Apparently, it's as easy to become a citizen journalist on CNN as it is to sign up for a new web app from an internet startup, if not easier. The process involves nothing more than filling out a name, screen name, and email address. Adding a phone number is optional and only necessary if you want the story to be considered by CNN. There's a CAPTCHA to prevent bots and an email confirmation link, but thanks to disposable email addresses, those are practically a waste of time these days.
Above: The Registration Form - Congratulations, You're A Journalist!
While most citizen journalists take their responsibility seriously as reporters of actual news, it's apparent that with iReport, just as with any web site on the internet today, there is going to be someone who decides to have a little sick "fun" with it. Who is the reporter by the name of Johntw anyway? As far as we could tell, the only way to get in touch with the reporter is through iReport's built-in messaging system. We sent him an email asking him why he reported this story, but it remains unanswered. In our minds, we're already imagining an adolescent kid who's having a good laugh with their friends this morning over how they just "punked" CNN.
We're interested in seeing how will CNN respond to this muddying of their good name. Will they disassociate themselves a bit from iReport? Or will they just be happy for the pageviews it brought? And will this give pause to other news outlets thinking of launching citizen journalism sites of their own? It's very possible. In these tough economic times, news reports that affect how the markets move are taken very seriously. Had the timing of this report been different, Apple stock could have really suffered. Fortunately, the rebuttal today came out fast enough that it shouldn't have any long-term effects. Next time, we may not be so lucky.
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Thank you for this Sarah! That site is the same one that reported 50cent died in a car accident. ugh.
Posted by: Mona N.
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October 3, 2008 7:53 AM
I'm OK with CNN running this stuff as long as the citizen section is heavily wrapped in "might not be real" warnings.
What about perpetuating the unsubstantiated claim on Twitter. Aren't we ultimately responsible for what we "report" regardless of providing that source link? We are credible even if the source isn't...
Irresponsible nonsense. Imagine the shock a member of the Jobs family might have felt on reading this trash.
Posted by: John Samuelson
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October 3, 2008 8:21 AM
While citizen "journalism" may assist the newsgathering process, any reporter or editor worth his or her salt must verify information as factual before attempting to publish or broadcast a story. This is journalism 101! It all comes back to the need for a trusted source to provide online audiences with truthful information from legitimate sources. Organizations like Associated Press, PR Newswire, CNW, Canadian Press and others have, for decades, been mainstays of the journalistic process and, as such, are seen as far more reliable sources of content than the questionable submissions of so-called citizen "journalists."
I don't think there is any reason to get annoyed at CNN. iReport is a citizen journalism site -- that's known to all involved. It's not some kind of scam.
Sarah's righteous anger is akin to people holding Google responsible for the videos users upload on YouTube (which legally, in general, they aren't, of course), or -- gasp -- the comments people leave on this page. Frankly, it's not something I would expect from this type of site.
By the way, I have from an anonymous but highly reliable source that there was Big Foot sighting on the White House lawn this morning at 5:53AM.
To throw in a different perspective, how do we know this isn't true? Just on the say-so of someone high up the Apple foodchain? Of course Apple will deny it, standard damage limitation exercise to protect their shares.
Wouldn't be the first time we've been lied to by big business.
Just a different viewpoint.
This just in ... the sky is falling.
Great post and just exposes how dangerous unfiltered content is, specially if we're labeling them as "news". CNN should have staff to confirm each and every one of this iReport items before publishing them on their site (did anyone here see this great movie called "Shattered Glass"? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0323944/)
Posted by: JungleG
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October 3, 2008 8:46 AM
Whew! I'm so glad that the mainstream media never, ever gets anything wrong.
Posted by: Glen Campbell
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October 3, 2008 8:47 AM
I agree with #7. Like Apple would say "yes, Steve is dying"? No, they would actually wait he's dead to actually admit he is dead.
Apple's secrecy about Jobs' health is a perfect example of that. Jobs saying himself at the WWCF that his health is good is just a way to make shareholders feel better.
After the plunge of Apple's stock in the last few days, they just can't afford that type of news.
@Noah re: Big foot - You've been chirped
And thinking more about it -- it *is* a shame, because citizen reporting could be a very important part of supporting democracy and freedom. Some stupid people just don't realize the importance of this. I remember reading about Korea's Citizen Journalism newspaper http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OhmyNews and how succesful it was.
Posted by: JungleG
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October 3, 2008 8:51 AM
@6 - because the fact that it's associated with CNN lends it that organization's journalistic credibility and brings significant traffic. An anonymous free hosted blog would carry neither advantage.
@7 - Because the person making an assertion is required to provide some evidence. It's not my job to disprove assertions, it's your job to provide reasons that they're true. "Why haven't you stopped beating your wife" for example. The person being accused doesn't have to prove they don't beat their wife, the accuser needs to provide some evidence that the person does.
Come on people, a little critical thought please...
This was an accident waiting to happen. In the world of blogs, twitter and lord knows what else is next, it seems that anybody with an internet connection is now a reporter. Credible news sites can't afford to have just anybody post anything. Who knows what kind of damage that rumors, gossip or just plain inaccurate information can present. The idea of major news organizations embracing "citizen journalism" sounds reckless. Don't take this lazy route. Report, verify and edit your own stories.
Frankly, with the way TheStreet has so often overtly manipulated news stories on Apple to benefit those who are short on APPL shares, I wouldn't be surprised if they are using covert means like this to "propel" the news... The SEC totally needs to get involved and trace down whether or not such motivations are the case here.
Dan
General Franco is still dead.
Sarah, I think it's a little much to say that citizen journalism has "failed" based on this one case. Yes, the report was untrue, and lots of people (including me) spread the report on Twitter. But at the same time, it was debunked relatively quickly -- and not by a traditional journalist either.
I think thatâs actually a pretty good example of how social media (I hate the term âcitizen journalismâ) can work. Itâs a process, not a single event. Is it subject to abuse? Yes. Should we all be a bit more careful of what we "report?" Yes. Has it failed? No.
Holy hyperbole batman!
So CNN has a shitty implementation of their citizen journalism service and that means therefore all citizen journalism fails?
Also there's nothing sick about playing pranks with system, if the system lets you. An adolescent kid probably did have a good laugh with their friends, because they did punk CNN.
CNN should have better control over and awareness of the content on their service. They need to monitor it more closely to stop this sort of stuff from happening, but to say this is a failure of citizen journalism is incorrect, it is a failure of CNN's ability to manage their own services.
OK Mathew, but you tweeted
"Holy crap -- news apparently reporting Steve Jobs taken to the hospital after severe heart attack; unverified at this point"
Note you said 'news'. Would you have said that if it was some random blogger on his or her own site? No. This is a failure of a poorly designed system where people can be anonymous and post anything they want, but still benefit from the credibility and visibility inherent in being associated with a CNN site. Note, too, that this person doesn't suffer the negative reputation effects, CNN does. So, much power, little accountability. Hm... that says bad system to me.
Citizen journalists can and should exist and the good ones should be take as seriously as any professional journalist but their influence needs to come from repeated good work, not being able to complete a short signup form.
Matthew Ingram:
I think you make a good argument for viewing it as a process - a process is much more of a modern dynamic idea, moreso than old media and static journalism.
The sensationalist title leaves a mad taste in my mouth also, but for different reasons. There are an infinite number of instances where bloggers and tweeters have the facts wrong so its ludicrous to pick out one instance and say its a broken model. The vast majority of bloggers would rather pickup and pass on any sensational headline than be accurate. And anyone consuming new media, is very skeptical of the material by its very nature - if its not reliably sourced and evidenced, everyone with 2 synapses firing takes the info with a grain of salt.
Matthew Ingram:
I think you make a good argument for viewing it as a process - a process is much more of a modern dynamic idea, moreso than old media and static journalism.
While I disagree with the sensationalist title also, I do so for different reasons. There are an infinite number of instances where bloggers and tweeters have the facts wrong so its ludicrous to pick out one instance and say its a broken model. The vast majority of bloggers would rather pickup and pass on any sensational headline than be accurate. And anyone consuming new media, is very skeptical of the material by its very nature - if its not reliably sourced and evidenced, everyone with 2 synapses firing takes the info with a grain of salt.
I have (not so) interesting *version* that "citizen journalism" was "on duty factor" to explain AAPL stock fluctuations from other factors in convenient way :) oh please, in the age of America with Department of Homeland nobody knows who is "nickname this"...
Posted by: silpol
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October 3, 2008 1:34 PM
1st Tweets ~ Steve Jobs Heart Attack ~ Timeline/Chart... http://tweetip.us/lkq3e
Ah, it seems the heart attack was just as non existent as the reality of iTunes ever closing down!
To clarify, perhaps the headline was too dramatic. (I have issues with that). Citizen Journalism failed us *today*, not necessarily in general.
But why?
Because CNN gave the iReport site credence it didn't deserve considering that any yahoo on the net can create an account and become a "journalist" so easily & anonymously.
C'mon, guys. Journalism is fact-checking. This was clearly not fact-checked or triangulated in any way, i.e. not journalism. CNN should know better.
The only story here is about clueless people are about newer communications tech, especially CNN.
And Jared from Subway is still alive.
Posted by: Louis Gray
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October 3, 2008 2:37 PM
And Facebook bought the LDS Church, or was it the other way around?
Posted by: Jesse Stay
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October 3, 2008 5:02 PM
Louis - you are on a roll tonight!! ha, ha!! Jesse you and Louis bought Facebook?! cool!!
Posted by: Susan Beebe
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October 3, 2008 5:06 PM
The Jared joke:
http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/subway.asp
Whew! I was concerned when I heard this as I have great respect for Jobs because he is one of the only CEO's in America that earns his pay. He makes $1 a year and the rest is in stock options. He must do his best to improve the company and make the stock increase to increase his salary; what a novel idea!!!
http://freddiefallout.blogspot.com/
Proof it's all about quick money, and not about investing in a company you believe in. Who cares about the bad reporting, or the bad decisions made by investors.
I think were missing the point here, i am a shareholder with apple stock and if someone states a false story and my stock goes down then am i not entitled to retribution after all this is my savings. I do hope the little prick that posted this story gets his or her just deserves.
As a long time Apple stock holder (down 50% so far) this was a shocking piece of news when I saw it first - espically on CNN. Just goes to show you can't always trust what you read nowadays. Still the drop in Apple's price did present a trading opp and SEC should look into it.
Susan, no, I heard Steve Jobs bought Facebook, right before he had a heartattack
Posted by: Jesse Stay
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October 4, 2008 12:39 AM
I thought he had an heart attack because he was in the car with 50 cents
Posted by: Marcello Del Bono
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October 4, 2008 12:43 AM
Because he was trying to make a dollar out fifty cents...
Posted by: Mona N.
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October 4, 2008 12:45 AM
The issue is CNN lending their brand credibility to anonymous tips. Anybody can Twitter/Blog something like this. If you can see who Twittered/Blogged you make a call on their credibility. If the Twitter/Blog is hiding behind anonymity you factor that into your judgement.
If you want to make anonymous "tips" all sites have that. And then somebody checks it out and if they post they attach their brand credibility to the news.
Citizen Journalism is massively important in repressive societies and in disaster situations. As a trend it is safe from this kind of BS.
The old idea was - MSM told us and we believed. Now we all do our own filtering based on what works for us, looking at sources for credibility. When MSM do things like this they further damage their credibility.
The loser here is undoubtedly CNN.
"Whew! I was concerned when I heard this as I have great respect for Jobs because he is one of the only CEO's in America that earns his pay. He makes $1 a year and the rest is in stock options. He must do his best to improve the company and make the stock increase to increase his salary; what a novel idea!!!" - Jesse W.
Jesse, you are quite possibly the furthest from the truth as is realistically possible on this comment. This practice of dollar-a-year salary is not unique to Steve Jobs and he wasn't even the first to do it. It shelters the money from taxes that are charged on salary's over $1M. In place of huge salaries, theses CEOs get bonuses and stock options which directly replace a paid salary. If they make a dollar a year, they dump hundreds of thousands in stocks into the market on a regularly scheduled basis turning them into millions in cash. This article explains well:
http://www.slate.com/id/2077899/
I just checked out that iReport homepage.
I'm sorry but anybody looking at that site and assuming that they can trust the reports as reasonably factual has poor information resource evaluation skills.
this just in! readwriteweb.com uses spectacular headline
to gain pageviews -- loses all credibility in the process!
-bowerbird
This is what citizen journalism really looks like: http://tinyurl.com/4bod3e
Steve's strong as an Ox. Steve and Apple are just getting started in their Technology movement. It's just amazing to behold the advancement curve of Apples products. It's phenomenal!!