How Twitter Killed a Film Star in India and later Apologized

On Jan 10, 2011 , DNA India, the eighth largest Indian newspaper was at the receiving end of ferocious criticism from Indian twitterers from across the world.

In an event which reminded many of the infamous Steve Jobs obituary circulated by Bloomberg , DNA Twitter handle sent a confirmation tweet on the demise of Shashi Kapoor .

Shashi Kapoor is a yesteryear Bollywood actor who was currently under critical care in a hospital in Mumbai.

The Twitter world was already buzzing about Kapoor’s health condition while DNA’s demise tweet spread the news further like wildfire. The newspaper later tweeted with an apology for publishing false news that was based on ‘sources’. The news headline on the DNA webpage was changed to ‘Veteran actor Shashi Kapoor critical’, but the hyperlink still contains traces of the old headline:

http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report_breaking-news-veteran-actor-shashi-kapoor-dead-at-72_1492778 .

Within an hour, thousands of angry tweets were targeted at DNA.

Now, this incident reminds us of two social media basic principles:

Its important to trust each other on social media, but verify first! This wrong news started off innocently. One gentleman was just enquiring on Shashi Kapoor’s life, the question mark in his tweet somehow disappeared in another guy’s tweet, which eventually became “news”. Few bothered to notice that the news did not cite any source. It went from an enquiry to unverified post to a news site in no time. This incident reminds us of how we as content producers should verify sources and confirm facts before broadcasting. The onus is still on us – you and me!!

Publishing is still about content and not speed alone! The “real-time web” or social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook may have made traditional journalism and publishing look outdated. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that journalists and media houses should focus on speed more than the credibility of their content. There must be a balance between speed and content.

Last but not least, wishing Shashi Kapoor all the best and a speedy recovery !