THE PRIVATE JET CRASH at Elmina township Shah Alam on 17 August 2023 has shocked the entire nation.
In short, the tragic incident killed eight people who were onboard the Beechcraft Model 390 (Premium 1) and two road users who were unfortunately at the crash location.
The incident occured just a few minutes before the plane was scheduled to land at the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah airport.
And within just a few hours, horrific pictures and videos of the crash began to spread through social media, which includes a dashcam video which shows the private jet making a sharp right banking turn before hitting the ground.
Social media were then abuzz with informations and updates about the crash, including the details of the victims. The impulsive enthusiasm of sharing information that is yet to be known by others has been contagious.
The question now is do we really care and wanting to help?
Do we care to think what the victims’ family feel after watching the horrifying video or images? Would other observers and bystanders be traumatised with the content shared?
Most netizens are not journalists thus may not be aware or concious enough to adhere to ‘ethical reporting’.
However, living in the user generated content era, netizens should be more mindful of what they are posting. Despite the intention to share the ‘unfiltered and original images’ for public consumption, such actions may create adverse impacts on others especially to the next of kins and relatives. In the absence of media gatekeepers, the unfortunate news may reach victims’ family solely via their mobile screen.
Drawing from a legal perspective, posting or sharing the photo of victims involved in a tragedy is not only violating the basic ethics of reporting but subject to legal action, which falls under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
In addition, sharing victims’ photos or videos may hurt the victims’ families and likely degrade the dignity of the victim hence not permissible in Islam.
Accidents and tragedies happen every now and then, and continue to make breaking news. Netizens who happened to be at the scene should be mindful of what they are going to share across their platforms once they able to record the incident.
Netizens ought to be more conscious of their intention to share and be more thoughtful in posting information as some information may not be true thus misleading. It’s worth remembering that the noble intention to share instant updates may create a misery for others.
Unlike netizen, journalists may take some time to report as all facts that need to be verified by credible sources.
The importance of accuracy in reporting was emphasised by a renowned Media and Communication scholar, Datuk Seri Professor Dr. Syed Arabi Idid in the INSIGHT webinar on ‘Reporting with Integrity in Times of Tragedy’ organised by the Communication and Media Centre (COMET).
He stressed on the importance of using reliable sources; referring to those who know about the actual situation or those who are in authority to provide the information.
Additionally, he also identified three other elements that are equally important in ethical reporting including speed, fairness and balance.
In terms of speed, journalists need to be fast in providing the news to meet the need of the audience.
Besides, they should also be fair to the subjects they are covering; in relations to tragedy the news should be fair and sensitive to the next of kin.
Azrul Naimi, a co-founder of Malaysia Tribune stressed on the importance of giving space the family members of the victims.
Journalists should make sure that the family members are comfortable to be interviewed during the trying time.
He said, journalists should be considerate and provide space for next of kin rather than merely thinking about deadlines. Another issue highlighted was the tendency of providing detailed description of victims or using gruesome images from a tragic incident, which may cause distress to readers and affected families.
In a nutshell, at times of a tragedy, journalist must exercise discretion and be more empathetic in their reporting.
Assoc. Prof. Dr Zeti Azreen Ahmad,
A member of the Communication and Media Centre,
Department of Communication, Abdul Hamid Abu Sulayman Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences,
International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM)
INSIGHT is a monthly social science webinar organised by the Communication and Media Centre (COMET).
