All of the media outlets are frantically reporting information on the current outbreak of Swine Flu, but is their input helping create a mass hysteria? Also, some of the information circulating the Internet is coming from less-than-reliable sources.
CNN ran a report on Tuesday about how Twitter is creating some of this panic, with folks using instant-connect to trade rumors about the flu outbreak (see Swine flu creates controversy on Twitter). The report also mentions that CNN’s own Dr. Sanjay Gupta has traveled to Mexico City to assess the situation and it updated his Twitter throughout the experience.
Dr. Gupta appears to be a fairly reliable source, but why is CNN condemning others for racing to Twitter to post information yet encouraging it one of its own correspondents? The CNN article quotes Brennon Slattery, a contributing writer for PC World:
“This is a good example of why [Twitter is] headed in that wrong direction, because it’s just propagating fear amongst people as opposed to seeking actual solutions or key information…[it is] an incredibly unreliable source of information.”
So, which is worse? The threat of a Swine Flu Pandemic, or the gripping fear the media reports are fostering? Either one looks Bitter to me. Blaming Twitter probably is not going to help the situation either, as most media outlets are now citing Twitter accounts (along with MySpace, Facebook, and other social networking sites) as “reliable” sources.
