Cooperative Learning: Case Study

Impact of Citizen Journalism and Social Media

in Influencing People’s Perspective

Bea Nicole C. Rosales

12-HUMSS

August 22, 2017

 Introduction

Social networking is a tool used by people all around the

world. Its purpose is to promote and aid in communication. While

social media are platforms of sharing information, ideas,

photos, files also; they are easily accessed by anyone. This is

a fast way to post your comment, giving your opinion on a

discussion and relying that to others. With the emergence of

different social media sites everywhere, netizens quickly used

this in their advantage, using this opportunity to disclose

societal concerns such as crimes. Some to inform others about

their bad past experiences. to use this as a preventive measure

or just to simply raise awareness. Thus the rise of citizen

journalism in our country, which is the collection,

dissemination, and analysis of news and information by the

general public, especially by means of the Internet. Filipinos

are do known for being active online. According to TIME

magazine, they reported Makati as the 'Selfie Capital of the

World'. With 258 selfie photos were taken per 100,000 people.

And Philippines is considered the ICT Hub of Asia.

 The video of the road rage turned into shooting incident in

Quiapo became viral after it was shared by Top Gear Philippines

on Facebook. Mr. Nestor Punzalan was affected by being

wrongfully accused in social media as the suspect in the said

shooting incident as he was targeted by netizens, labelling him

as a murderer, someone with anger issues that lead to the road

rage and death of a cyclist. Thus seeing him in a bad light and

commenting such hateful words to him and maybe to his family

also. As it said in a brief interview with him in a night news

program, he said they were harassed by countless people they

don’t even know personally. They were given threats online hence

making him and his wife decide to deactivate their Facebook

accounts as it was flooded by hurtful remarks from everybody.

Mr. Punzalan was heard quoting: experiencing great trauma

because of this issue of false accusation charge made against

him. The messages were so severe, netizens imply as if they

wanted him dead too. It was scary.

The liability Top Gear will be facing along with other

media outlets, and netizens who wrongfully accused Mr. Punzalan

as the suspect in the said shooting incident is civil liability.

According to Article 104 of the RPC, civil liability

includes restitution, reparation, and indemnification

for consequential damages. They can also be charged with the

cybercrime law of libel and cyber bullying. The comments were

acts of bullying. Defamation of one’s image and reputation.

The concept of citizen journalism is based upon public

citizens; playing an active role in the process of collecting,

reporting, analyzing, and disseminating news and information.

Due to new media technology, such as social networking and

media-sharing websites, and in addition to the increasing

prevalence of cellular telephones, it has made citizen

journalism more accessible to people worldwide. The role Top

Gear played is diffusion of wrong information, on top of that it

ignited the compassion of social media users and their

resentment towards the assailant resulting them to recklessly

comment down their opinion. Using foul language and threats to

express their anger towards this issue.

The positive effects of media and information on individual

and society is that people were involved in the coverage and

dissemination of information. They were concerned for the

welfare of others and to the society. Citizen journalists used

social media to deploy sources of information serving as a

counterpart to the conventional journalism.

 While the negative aspect that was evident in this incident is

that, some of media effects were the social, cultural, and

psychological impact of communicating via the mass media.

Moreover, what it could be its effect to individuals and

society. Mass media messages could indeed lead to measurable

social effects. There were media theories that can apply in this

issue. Framing: Identifies the media's ability to manipulate

audience interpretation of a media message through careful

control of angles, facts, opinions, amount of coverage. Agenda-

setting theory: Describes how topics selection and the

frequencies of reporting by the mass media affected the

perceived salience of those topics within the public audience.

And as an audience engages in media messages, they publicly

state their personal opinion and beliefs.

How can we prevent this kind of incident from happening in the

future: check the credibility of the site. Was the author/writer

of the post stated? Is he known in the field of media? It was

published timely, were it sources cited? But don’t easy believe

everything you see and read online. You need to research too,

check from other sites too. See if a news outlet covers this

information. Do not let your emotions carry in criticizing media

information. Be open-minded for other possibilities for an

undergoing investigation of a criminal case. Remember, they

might be known, but that doesn’t mean they are credible,

trustworthy to report news information. As an educated person,

be civilized. Use proper language to express your opinion (a

constructive criticism) that used logical reasoning and is

objective.

The important lessons we can learn from this event as a social

media user is to compare the information from other outlets,

check again he credibility of the site and the information

presented. Watch your language, be mindful of others and respect

their rights. Remember your judgement can be damage his dignity

and integrity. That can affect his life and of his family. Let

the authorities judge him. Everyone has the right to receive due

process and to undergo the criminal justice system.

 Conclusion

Internet revolutionizes news reporting. The process that

happens before a story is published has also been transformed.

The government – the gatekeepers, cannot monitor and regulate

all sources of information. If knowledge is power, the web is

the greatest tool in the history of the world. The web has

become the go-to point for the globe when it comes to getting

information. You will get to read the perspective of others and

the availability of knowledge that provides the context for

stories. Through social media, the processes of identifying

stories that are newsworthy improved. However, this doesn’t seem

to apply all the time. As time goes by eventually social media

do cause some harm to users. Fake news and wrong information is

becoming more prevalent now. Citizen journalism has become a

thing now. However, as ordinary citizens do not possess direct

knowledge or experience regarding an issue, they can be easily

influence and manipulated by media. It can cloud their

judgement. What we should practice is how to properly criticize

a text. Don’t believe everything especially on internet. Still

stand by to trusted sources of information and current affairs.

People who are well oriented to media sources and messages from

true sources that are able to provide information that is

accurate and reliable as possible. They are media practitioners

who provide information coming from their expert knowledge and

first-hand experience of an event.

References

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIfOvz3AOYQ

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https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/feb/20/what-effect-
internet-on-journalism

https://www.slideshare.net/arnielping/11-media-and-information-
literacy-mil-people-media