On 6 November, Mr Eric Wishart, journalist and former editor-in-chief of AFP, came to UIC and gave a lecture on “How the news gatherers have become news verifiers - the impact of social networks on the work of professional journalists”.
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| Mr Eric Wishart gives a presentation to students studying International Journalism |
Mr Wishart discussed the importance of ensuring all media that is uploaded is verified to prevent false information being spread. Examples were shown with the current conflict in Syria where real and fake footage had been shown to the world via certain media channels such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.
He also showed another example of how the UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, had his photograph added with a red poppy on the suit by his social media team and how people had spotted the edited work on Twitter. Mr Wishart summed up the lecture with a question: “If you upload content, does this make you a journalist?”
Eric Wishart is the former editior-in-chief for AFP, which is a global news agency that delivers fast, accurate, in-depth coverage of the events shaping the world from wars and conflicts to politics, sports, entertainment and the latest breakthroughs in health, science and technology.
Reporter: Samuel Burgess (MPRO)
(with special thanks to the ELC)
