Flawed stories that mislead the public

We live in an era when technology has enabled everyone to be a journalist, yet not everyone has the proper training. Whether out of ignorance or out of a sense of righteousness, some of the journalism that surface online have done a better job at manipulating public sentiment rather than presenting the whole truth.

Two recent stories are perfect reminders of the gap between the urge to sway and the lack of basic journalism ethics.

"A college kid took some birds from a nearby tree and was sentenced to 10 years in prison," went a recent online headline splattered over Chinese cyberspace. The accompanying vote showed that 85 percent of respondents sided with the student. Some joked that most boys would be guilty of such a crime because we had all snatched magpies when we were children.