By Jamie DeLoma, Quinnipiac University

  

As an increasing number of individuals are able to share their observations with the world, journalists must resist the temptation to disseminate whatever they come across before properly vetting it.

As news broke Sunday night that a Mexico City-bound flight was diverted to Montreal, at least one leading American news network was quick to describe an individual detained by authorities as “Muslim-looking person.”

The information was attributed to a tweet said to be posted from a person later identified as a state senator from Mexico.

What does a Muslim person even look like? And further, how does that advance the story?

The vast majority of the early story, a total of four of five paragraphs, relied on the tweets.

This unfortunate episode should remind journalists everywhere of two basic reporting principles:

1) Journalists and media organizations are only as good as their word. Risking one’s reputation on an unsubstantiated tweet is not always the best idea. 

2) The accuracy of information is more important than being first to report a story or detail. The Internet offers a wealth of information at one’s fingertips, but it is important to not allow it -- or the folks the information is being collected from -- to dictate coverage.
 
Jamie DeLoma is the assistant director of public affairs and social media at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn. He is also an adjunct professor of journalism at Quinnipiac University and Southern Connecticut State University. He blogs about technology issues and is a freelance copy editor for Hearst Connecticut Newspapers.  Previously, he served as an editor at major New York-based news outlets.